Jealousy
by ParanoidArabBoy
Summary: Post Bend & Break. A new man in Callie's life proves too much for Arizona, though all is not what it seems. Calzona end game. AU-ish.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: I own nothing you recognize. Also, the OC is a figment of my imagination and any resemblance to any real person is unintentional. This is set about a month after Bend & Break.**

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><p>Arizona pulled her car into the driveway of the house she and Callie used to share, sighing as she shifted into park and turned her lights off. The house that had been their new beginning was now just another reminder of a bitter end. She had told Callie she had found an apartment, but really she was still sleeping at the hospital, except the nights she came over to see Sofia, when she would usually sleep in the guest room. This was probably one of those nights. She knew it was a strange set up, but it was easier for Sofia when she stayed the night, so she stayed the night. Tonight wasn't normally a night she'd come see Sofia, but Callie had called and asked if she could watch the little girl - she had a friend in town apparently - and Arizona always jumped at the chance to see her daughter. Whatever was happening between her and Callie, Sofia was always something they had been able to agree on. It was bad enough that the little girl would never get to meet her father, so they always made sure that she had two mothers who loved her and were mostly able to put their own issues aside for her.<p>

As she locked her car, Arizona noticed an unfamiliar car in the driveway, a sleek, midnight blue BMW of some sort, seemingly brand new and so shiny she could see every line on her face in the reflection. Yikes, maybe she needed to start using night cream.

She made her way to the door, stopping herself before reaching for the handle and instead bringing her fist up to knock. She was still getting used to this part, and to be honest, wasn't loving it. The door swung open suddenly, revealing a grinning, excited, Sofia.

"Mommy!" the girl shrieked, throwing her arms around Arizona's waist.

Arizona reached down and picked up the little girl, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Hey Sweetie, where's your mom?" she asked with a smile.

Sofia squirmed out of her arms and ran towards the living room, calling behind her to Arizona.

"Gettin' dressed. Come meet Mama's friend, he's sooo cool!"

Arizona followed her daughter into the main room, surprised to see Sofia throw herself into the arms of a very handsome man. Usually she was shy with strangers, but apparently this man was the exception. She whispered something into his ear and he put her down before she ran off to her bedroom, leaving Arizona alone with the handsome stranger.

"Uh, hi. I'm Juan." he proffered his hand.

While Arizona had never in her life been attracted to men, she also wasn't blind. Juan was maybe just shy of six feet, built like an athlete, with broad shoulders, a muscular chest and well defined arms and legs. He wore dark, fitted jeans and a white henley shirt covered by what looked to be the world's softest brown leather jacket, and was wearing casual blue suede sneakers with three white stripes down the sides. His thick, wavy hair was gelled up and out of his face, but cut short on the sides, and he had unusually straight, white teeth that stood out against his dark, caramel colored skin. He had light stubble across his jaw, and the darkest eyes she'd ever seen, and he looked strangely familiar.

She took his offered hand.

"Arizona" she replied.

Before she could say anything further, Sofia came tearing into the room, closely followed by Callie, who was looking even more drop dead gorgeous than usual, clad in tight, black skinny jeans, a grey top that had a neckline that could only be described as 'plunging', with her trademark black leather jacket, her hair wavy and wild, smoky eyeliner and deep red lipstick. Arizona had to fight to keep her mouth closed and not to ogle her ex.

A low whistle startled her out of her reverie, and she turned to the source; Juan.

"Oye, mami."

Callie laughed and slapped the man on the arm.

"Shut up, Juan. You sound like Carlos, it's creeping me out."

Juan laughed and spoke again.

"Seriously Cal, you look nice."

He spoke with a deep baritone and the slightest accent, probably Spanish, Arizona guessed.

"Juan, this is Arizona" Callie gestured to her "Arizona, Juan."

"Yeah," Arizona stated meekly "we met."

Callie turned to Arizona as she spoke now, the blonde fighting to keep her expression neutral.

"So, we shouldn't be out too late, but feel free to stay the night, Sofia loves it when you sleep over. You know where everything is, but Sofia has some halloween candy in the back of the pantry and I said she could have some if she finished her dinner."

Callie paused for a moment, seemingly stuck on what to say.

"You know the routine, I don't know why I'm explaining everything like an obsessive mother. Sorry."

The taller woman nervously pushed an errant hair behind her ear, before leaning down to kiss their daughter goodnight. Sofia was much too engrossed in her movie though, and didn't seem to even notice Callie.

"Have fun you guys, and Arizona, you have my cell if you need anything."

"We have done this before you know" the blonde replied mildly.

"Yeah, sorry. Night."

With that, Callie took Juan's arm and headed for the door, the man throwing her a wave and a smile on his way out.

"Nice to meet you, Arizona" he called.

Only when the door closed behind them and she heard a car pull out of the driveway did she release the breath she had been holding.

"Yeah," she whispered belatedly "you too."


	2. Chapter 2

**Again, nothing trademarked or recognizable is mine. And for this story, Christina and Addison are both still in Seattle, just because I like them. Also, I apologize for any typos, one of my hands is injured and not the most accurate on the keyboard at the moment.**

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><p>Callie and Juan sat in a corner booth at Joe's, Callie ordering shots while her table companion looked at her expectantly.<p>

"What?" she snapped.

"Nothing Cal, just wondering if you planned on telling me what the hell's going on."

He was calm and patient as he spoke, ordering a water for himself when the server passed.

"You know exactly what's going on, don't play stupid. I'm getting a divorce and you just got a fancy new job, so we're drinking."

Juan chuckled softly to himself before speaking again.

"Well yes, that I knew. I meant back at the house with Arizona and you know it. She has no idea who I am, does she? She was looking at me like she wanted me to burst into flames."

Callie snorted before taking her shot, quickly lining up her next one before speaking.

"I just said you were an old friend, it's true enough."

He shook his head.

"Oh geez, Cal."

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><p>At the other end of the bar, Miranda Bailey and Ben Warren were sitting at a table of three being entertained by a thoroughly tipsy Addison Forbes-Montgomery. The red head was giggling at something she had just said, before she dropped dead silent, her eyes zeroing in on the table in the far corner.<p>

"Well hello, what do we have here?"

As Bailey started to turn in the direction she was looking, she quickly slapped the other surgeon on the arm.

"Stop, Stop, Stop!"

"What in the hell are you slapping me for?" Bailey groused.

Her husband had apparently noticed whatever the redhead was gawking at though, as his eyebrows hit his hairline.

"Oh, wow" he mused "do you know who that is?"

"No, but he's delicious, and as soon as Torres gets up, I'm pouncing."

Bailey was looking around confused now, her patience with the two wearing thin.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Addison turned to her, eyes dancing, and motioned to the corner booth.

"The hottie Callie's over there with. Look at him."

"Oh my," Bailey stated "he is something. If my husband weren't sitting right here."

"Miranda!"

"Sorry honey," she muttered "get in line."

"Miranda! That's Juan Orozco, he's a professional soccer player. He's a pretty big deal right now."

"I'll bet he is" she mused, taking a sip of her drink and ignoring her husband's pointed glare.

"What's he doing with Callie?" Addison asked, snapping Bailey back to the conversation.

"Torres?"

"Yeah," Ben said "she's over with the soccer star you were just undressing with your eyes."

Bailey took another sip of her drink and pecked her husband on the cheek.

"I'm not even sorry."

Ben and Addison both laughed, watching the unflappable Miranda Bailey shamelessly ogle a stranger in a bar.

The music in the bar was getting louder as people moved onto the makeshift dance floor, and Addison watched with a manicured eyebrow raised as Callie and the handsome athlete took to the dance floor themselves. While they were hardly dirty dancing, she had to wonder how Arizona would feel about the display.

"Where's Robbins?" she asked aloud.

Ben just shrugged, but Miranda turned to her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Torres and Robbins split up a month ago."

"What?!" Addison screeched "How did I not know that?"

"They're not really announcing it" Bailey stated.

Addison glared at her.

"But you know."

Bailey just waved her hand.

"I know everything."

"Huh," Addison just stared at the pair on the dance floor "that's quite the rebound."

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><p>Callie stumbled out of Joe's at about two in the morning, followed by Juan, who had long since cut her off and was hoping the cool air would sober her up some. They walked towards the hospital parking lot where he had parked his car, his arm out to steady Callie as she tripped over her own feet.<p>

"I hate these shoes!"

Juan just chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, then take them off."

"That's brilliant!"

Callie gave him a drunken smile and stopped in the middle of the intersection to bend down.

"No, no, no. Once we get to the sidewalk!"

He hauled her up by the arm and waved his apology to a car waiting as he got her safely to a bench at the edge of the parking lot.

She sat swaying and staring at her shoes, looking confused and nauseous.

"You gonna hurl?"

"No" she stated uncertainly.

"Cal, if you're going to hurl, I'd rather you did it here than in my car."

"Shut up, I'm not gonna hurl" she slurred.

"Alright," he sat down next to her "then what's up?"

"Sad."

He just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side wordlessly.

"Sad... Zona... Uh oh!"

"What?"

Suddenly Callie had pulled out of his arms and leaned over the side of the bench, retching.

"Lovely."

Juan reached over and pulled her hair out of her face and began rubbing circles on her back.

"It's alright," he murmured "I've got you."

When Callie had finished emptying her stomach onto the sidewalk, she sat back on the bench, shivering lightly in the cold and her voice wavering as she spoke.

"I want to go back."

Juan reached into his jacket and pulled out a small package of Kleenex, pulling out an individual tissue and bringing it up to Callie's face, wiping her mouth and handing her a second one.

"I'll take you home. You think you'll be good for the car ride, or should I hail a cab and pay the spew fee?"

Callie didn't even have the energy to smack him for his remark, instead just nodding.

"I'll be fine. I'm done, empty."

"Alright," he helps her to her feet "let's go then."


	3. Chapter 3

**I still own nothing you recognize. I appreciate the speedy reviews I've been getting, too. Even the one that just says 'Nu uh I hate this' Haha. I'm curious to know if it's my writing style that's hated, or just the direction the story is going in. Either way, I'm always up for some constructive criticism.**

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><p>Arizona was startled awake at what she assumed was some ungodly hour by a loud series of crashes, followed by what sounded like shushing, and then the unmistakable sound of Calliope giggling. She could hear a male voice in the hallway she vaguely recognized as Juan, and her heart dropped into her stomach as she began to make out the conversation in the hall.<p>

"_Shh. Callie, you're going to wake the whole house up."_

More giggling, then Callie spoke.

_"Hey, you're the one talking! Help me take these shoes off."_

_"Fine, maybe that'll make you a bit less noisy."_

She could hear a ruckus in the living room, followed by still more giggling.

_"Well sit down and let me take your damn shoes off so I can get you into bed!"_

Arizona tried uselessly to swallow around the lump that had formed in her throat as she felt tears prick her eyes. Surely they weren't going to fall into bed together with her in the next room, not to mention Sofia. Against her will, the tears fell.

_"Dr. Torres! Sit down and behave! You're not making this easy for me."_

At the sound of Callie's giggling that followed the statement, Arizona had to choke back a sob. She couldn't even make a break for it without them noticing her, so it seemed she was stuck.

_"Don't call me that," _she heard Callie laugh _"it's weird."_

Thankfully the voices were moving farther away, and she thought she heard the door to Callie's room, formerly their room, open.

_"Fine then, Calliope."_

She had to stuff her knuckles up against her mouth to hold in a sob, hearing him call her that, dragging the syllables out, before she heard the door shut behind them. Only then did she really allow herself to break down, burying her face into a pillow as she felt sobs wrack her body, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

This couldn't be happening, she couldn't be stuck in this house with Calliope and that man in their bedroom. She would have made a break for it too, but she knew she was in no condition to drive, and she really didn't feel like being that woman in her pyjamas, sobbing on the bus in the middle of the night.

She pulled another pillow over her head and made a fruitless attempt at sleeping, while trying to block out any noise that might be coming from down the hall.

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><p>Juan manoeuvred Callie towards the couch as gracefully as he could manage, desperately hoping she'd be a little less clumsy without her heels. Of course she had other ideas and was trying to make her way to the kitchen for wine. Apparently her little vomiting episode was forgotten and she was back to being a giggly drunk.<p>

"Dr. Torres! Sit down and behave! You're not making this easy for me."

She finally sat down, giggling and squirming, nearly kicking him in the face before he finally managed to get her shoes off.

"Don't call me that," she said as he stood her up and guided her to her room "it's weird."

He managed to get her through the door without commotion and sighed with relief at not having woken anyone up yet.

"Fine then, Calliope" he drew out her full name, knowing how much she hated it, before shutting the door behind him.

Taking his jacket off and throwing it onto a chair, he headed into the ensuite bathroom and ran the tap, returning with a glass of cold water.

"Don't call me that."

Her voice was quiet and broken, he wouldn't have heard her if the tap had still been running.

"Hmm?" he asked, handing her the glass of water and motioning to drink.

"Calliope" she whispered

"Yeah.."

"I just," she stutters "don't ever call me that. Not like that. Ever."

Juan quirks his eyebrow as Callie takes a tentative sip of her water. He knew she had never loved her given name, but usually bringing it up would result in a punch to the arm, or a dirty look, not the bout of crying that appeared to be starting.

Her hands were starting to shake so badly that the water was spilling, so he took the glass from her and placed it on the nightstand before reaching over and pulling back the covers from the bed.

"Get in."

Callie looked up at him.

"What?"

"It's late, it's been a long night, and you've had a lot to drink, you need to go to sleep."

Too drained to argue, Callie simply kicked off her jeans and climbed under the covers.

Juan turned to get up, but was stopped by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt.

"Stay" Callie mumbled into her pillow.

He looked at her, eyes red and puffy from crying, with tears still making their way down her cheeks, and nodded.

"Alright, just let me grab a few things."

He made his way back into the bathroom, rummaging around a bit before finding what he wanted and running the tap again. When he returned to the bedroom, he was carrying a trash can with a new bag in it that he deposited on Callie's side of the bed, and a cool washcloth that he leaned over and placed on her forehead, before stretching his back out, kicking off his shoes, and climbing into the bed, fully clothed. Callie unconsciously moved closer to him and he stretched his arm out to pull her into his side.

Exhausted from a night of babysitting a drunk surgeon, Juan fell into an easy sleep. He was the only adult in the house who did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Still don't own anything you recognize. And again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I appreciate it.**

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><p>Apparently she had fallen asleep at some point, because Arizona awoke to bright light streaming in from the window in the guest room and the smell of coffee. She sat up and ran her hand down her face, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. The previous night was running through her mind like a nauseating, unwanted film reel. She could still hear Calliope giggling, the way Juan had drawn out her name; like she used to.<p>

She shook her head and slowly got out of bed, paying more attention to getting dressed than she usually would, in a useless attempt to distract herself. Technically she was supposed to be at work today, but she had no surgeries scheduled and Dr. Herman had taken a personal day, all she really had to do were a few charts, and if an emergency were to come in, Karev could handle it. Work would probably be a good distraction, but she knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything today, and she didn't exactly have a job where spacing out was acceptable. Arizona already knew she wouldn't be going in today, but it wasn't like she could stay here all day either. Maybe she'd just grab a cup of coffee and then head to the hospital and hide in her office all day with the door locked and the blinds closed. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

Only as she made her way down the hallway did Arizona realize that she smell of coffee might mean there was somebody else in the house. She could hear what sounded like a man's voice singing in the kitchen and desperately hoped that Callie had just accidentally left music playing, as she sometimes did.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she rounded the corner, realizing Callie had definitely not just left music playing.

Juan was moving around the kitchen, shirtless, hair dripping wet, and wearing only a towel. A towel that Arizona noted didn't even hit his knees. And he was singing. He had earbuds plugged in his ears and hadn't noticed her as he danced - yes, danced - to the fridge and sang along to whatever song was playing in his ears. Arizona was frozen. He actually had a nice voice, and the song seemed to be in Spanish, she noted as he leaned into the fridge and she remained rooted to the spot, listening.

_"Y a cada parte paso, yo comienzo a comprender _  
><em>porque ella es mía y yo soy parte de su piel <em>  
><em>me tiene entre sus manos, es algo sobre humano <em>  
><em>me hace morir y renacer... <em>

_Ella me hace navegar, en el mar de sus ojos _  
><em>y yo solo quiero anclar entre sus labios rojos <em>  
><em>solo quiero naufragar, cerca de su sonrisa <em>  
><em>ella es mi puerto y mi mar, mi velero y mi brisa..."<em>

She knew the exact moment he noticed her standing there; his eyes went wide, he flinched, and the carton of orange juice he was holding fell from his hand, hitting the floor with a thud and spilling out onto the tile of the kitchen floor.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed, surprised at her presence.

"Sorry," he stuttered "I didn't know anyone was here... I mean, I thought I was alone. If I had known you were here, well, I'd be dressed."

"I..." Arizona started, trying to pull her thoughts together "It's fine. I don't live here. I was just getting coffee, but I can wait."

She turned and started for the door, trying to blink away both tears and images of the half naked man in what she still thought of as her kitchen.

"Wait! Arizona!"

She could hear his voice behind her, but ignored it, only turning around when she didn't hear the door shut behind her. When she turned, she came face to face with Juan, standing in the driveway in nothing but a towel and running his fingers through his hair nervously.

"What, Juan? What do you want?"

"I just... I'm sorry. I wish I could explain this, but it's not my place."

When she looked at him, she could tell there was something he really wanted to get out, but was holding back.

"Look, I get it, you and Callie are together now, and while I can't say that I'm thrilled, I'm just going to have to get over it. I'm a big girl Juan, I'll survive."

"No, just... Just talk to Callie, please. I can't be the one to explain this, it has to come from her."

He ran his hand across his face, frustrated.

"And I'm sorry if we woke you up last night, I always forget what a noisy drunk Callie is."

With that he turned around and made his way back into the house, leaving Arizona standing in the driveway, more confused than ever.

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><p><em>Ring Ring Ring<em>

"Dr. Torres."

"Tell her."

"What? Who is this?"

"Tell her."

"Juan?"

"Yes, of course Juan. Who the hell else?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You have to tell Arizona."

"Juan..."

"No! You're not arguing with me on this. She just walked in on me half naked in your kitchen, you have to tell her."

"Why were you half naked in my kitchen?"

"That's so not the point. Seriously Cal, you have to tell her, this is cruel."

Callie leaned against the nurses station and sighed, not responding.

"Listen Cal, I know this sucks and I know you're hurting, but this isn't you. You're hard headed and stubborn as all hell, but you're not cruel. She needs to know what's going on."

"Yeah.." she sighed "you're right. I just, I don't know how to explain it, or what to tell her."

"Well, you better figure it out, because she heard us come in last night and between that and this morning's display, she thinks we're fucking in the room across the hall from your daughter."

"Oh God.." Callie groaned.

"Yeah, and I almost blurted everything out in your driveway this morning, so you better do it soon."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'll take care of it. Don't you have your first practice today?"

"Yeah, I'm just heading out the door now."

"Alright, good luck. I'll see you later."

"Yup, see you later. Love you."

"Love you too."

Callie ended the call and sighed deeply, resting her forehead in her palm, not hearing anyone come up behind her until a throat cleared.

"Alright Callie, I want all the details."


	5. Chapter 5

**Everything related to Grey's Anatomy belongs to someone other than myself. Also, I'm thinking of still having Teddy around, again, just because I like her. Also, I've completely fictionalized any soccer players I've added in, because I just felt weird about writing real people I have no personal knowledge of. So, real teams, and mentions of real players, but anyone with a speaking part is completely fictional.**

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><p>Juan sighed and ran his hands through his hair after ending his conversation with Callie. It was his first official practice with the Sounders in about an hour and he was still standing in a towel in Callie's kitchen, trying to find paper towels to clean up the mess he'd made and making a futile attempt not to track orange juice through anymore of the house.<p>

He found a cupboard full of cleaning supplies and dug around until he found the paper towels, tearing off a few pieces and bending down to clean the juice off the white tile. This was not how he thought he'd be spending his morning. His apartment was still filled with boxes, he was living out of a rapidly depleting suitcase, and now it looked as if he would have to shower again, because his feet and legs were sticky with orange juice.

A shoulder injury had landed Juan in Seattle, on loan indefinitely from Barcelona until it was determined exactly the extent of the damage. He really didn't mind, Seattle was a nice change of pace, and a beautiful city, but he knew that if his shoulder was as bad as was feared, he'd probably be ending his career here. The MLS was where players came to retire, and though Seattle had arguably the best team in the league, he had been playing at the highest level in Spain, and this was still a step down. He was only in his mid-twenties and had just played his first World Cup the previous summer, so the thought of retirement scared him. This was all he'd ever worked for, and he didn't really know how to do anything else, at least not nearly as well. When he'd signed with Barcelona it had been a dream come true, and now, well, now all he could do was wait.

Stepping out of Callie's shower for the second time that morning, Juan dried off quickly and pulled on the clothes he had been wearing the night before, grimacing at the vague smell of liquor and... Yup, that was definitely vomit. He just shook his head and pulled the shirt on anyways, knowing he wouldn't have time to stop by his place and change.

Once he was dressed he practically sprinted out the door and into his car, having been unable to find keys to lock up behind himself. Surprisingly, he made decent time, traffic not presenting a problem, and arrived at the stadium with ten minutes to spare, just hoping he'd be able to find the locker room easily enough.

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><p>"So Callie, tell me all about soccer hottie."<p>

Addison stood with one hand on her hip, eyebrow raised.

"Excuse me?"

"Juan Orozco," she clarified "nice rebound, by the way. You'll have to tell me how you managed that."

"Addie!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"I'm not rebounding, he's an old friend."

"Uh huh. Sure he is. Everyone saw you guys last night Cal, secret's out."

Callie just snorted, walking towards the elevator with the redhead.

"Addison, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well," she smirked "if you're not sleeping with him, can I?"

Callie just rolled her eyes, stepping on to the elevator.

"Good luck with that."

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><p>Juan rushed into the locker room, stripping off his shirt as he zeroed in on his locker, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.<p>

"Orozco! You're late!"

Damn it, he'd barely been in the door two minutes and he was in shit already. He turned around, expecting a lecture, or at least a stern glare, but was instead met with a friendly face and a shit eating grin.

"Aurelio! You're a bastard!" he called back, relieved.

Aurelio Mosquera had played midfield for Colombia with him that summer in Brazil and was a good friend. They had both started out on the team around the same time and had become fast friends in training. He stepped forward and gave his friend a hug, slapping him on the back for good measure. Aurelio pulled back and looked at him, face scrunched up.

"You smell like a bar, man. When'd you take up drinking."

Juan just shook his head, exhausted.

"I didn't. And after last night I really don't plan to."

The shorter man's eyebrows raised.

"Oh? That why you're late? Dealing with a hungover lady friend?"

Juan just laughed, pulling his training jersey on and reaching for his cleats.

"Not exactly," he muttered "more like a lesbian love triangle."

Aurelio's eyebrows shot up to his hairline and his mouth hung open a bit.

"This I've got to hear."

He finished lacing his cleats just as a whistle blew outside, signalling the start of practice, and the end of his story for now. He pulled himself into a more concentrated mindset as he jogged out to the pitch with Aurelio, putting the past days events out of his head for the moment.

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><p>Callie was sitting poking at her lunch and trying her very best to ignore Addison, who sat across from her and was still talking, probably about Juan and her apparent rebound, but she had tuned out about five minutes ago. The constant badgering really was getting to her though.<p>

"Addison! Stop!"

The redhead froze with her fork halfway to her mouth, lettuce hanging limply.

"I'll tell you if you please, for the love of God, stop talking."

Addison nodded, closing her mouth and putting her fork down.

"I'm listening."

"Alright," Callie started "do you remember little JJ from Miami?"

"Yeah," Addison's face scrunched in confusion "what does he have to do with anything?"

Callie continued.

"Do you remember what happened to him? Him and his mom?"

"Sort of," she replied "I just remember there were police everywhere at your place, you and Aria stayed with us for a few weeks, and then I never heard about him again."

Callie picked at her salad a bit.

"They weren't police. They were from immigration. My dad had them deported."

"What? Why? And what does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know the whole story, it's all wrapped up in secrets, lawyers, and denial. As far as I know though, my father was having some sort of torrid affair with one of the maids, who just happened to be underage and paperless. Then she got pregnant. It all kind of went to hell after that."

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><p><strong>So, this was a bit of a filler chapter. I've planned out the next bit, there just needed to be some time in between.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing you recognize. Also, that wasn't the end of Callie and Addison's conversation, I just cut it off to leave a little mystery. All will be explained, I just didn't want the reveal to be to Addison. Parts of that conversation will be in this chapter though, just little clarifications. Also, the newspaper mentioned is fictional and intended to be a sort of trashy rag type.**

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><p>Callie was replaying bits of her conversation with Addison while she scrubbed out of a hip replacement, it had been helpful to talk it through with her friend, now she had least had an idea of what she might say to Arizona.<p>

_"Wait, but wasn't JJ born in Miami? And his mom was at least thirty, probably older. That doesn't make sense."_

_"I don't know the whole story, but there were a bunch of staff that he had deported then, including JJ's mom, not just the pregnant girl. I'm pretty sure it was all kinds of illegal, especially since he was usually super careful about making sure everyone had their papers."_

_"What happened to the pregnant girl? Hell, what happened to any of them?"_

_"I'm not totally sure. I'm guessing she went home and had her baby, maybe she tried to come back, maybe she succeeded, hell, maybe she had an abortion. I really don't know. This is where it gets all fuzzy."_

She was startled out of her reverie by Miranda Bailey tapping her on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Where's your head at Torres? I've been calling you for five minutes."

"Oh, geez. Sorry Bailey. Just distracted."

"Yeah, I would be too if I had _that_ waiting for me."

The shorter woman gestured to the hall with a knowing look.

"What, exactly, is waiting for me?"

Callie was confused, still stuck in her head.

"Soccer hottie. He's waiting at the desk for you, and he doesn't look happy. Must've seen the Enquirer."

Bailey left the room with Callie on her heels, now fully paying attention.

"Wait, what's in the Enquirer?"

"You'll have to see for yourself, looks like he's got a copy."

The smaller woman gestured to the desk, where Juan was standing, looking thoroughly pissed off and, sure enough, holding a newspaper. She walked up to him, waving to get his attention.

"Have you seen this?"

Juan was fuming, it was evident in his voice, his posture, and his eyes, wider than usual. Callie had to stifle a chuckle, as he was not normally someone to get worked up about, well, anything.

"Seen what, Juan?"

"Here."

He thrust the paper into her hands, and she chuckled lightly, reading the headline aloud.

"Don Juan. Sounders new signing, Juan Orozco, makes his mark on the women of Seattle."

She laughed lightly before speaking again.

"Oh come on, that's kind of funny."

"Look at the pictures."

His voice still had a hard edge to it as he spoke.

"Wait, is that Arizona?"

Callie looked up at him, shocked to see a photo of Juan, in a towel, apparently arguing with Arizona in what appeared to be her own front yard.

"It get's better. Turn the page" he ground out.

Callie's mouth dropped open as she found herself looking at a photo of her and Juan dancing at Joe's the other night. Apparently the photographer had excellent timing, because they really hadn't been dancing that close, but in the photo it looked like she was about to mount him.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed.

"Apparently I'm the talk of Seattle this morning. I wouldn't read through it if I were you though, just trust me on that."

"Fuck."

Callie blew out a breath.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Go on like that for the next hour and you might get close to where I am now."

"I mean..." Callie started "I just... What the fuck! This week is really turning out fantastic!"

Juan just nodded, leaning against a table as Callie sat down.

"Oh God!" her head shot up "Has Arizona seen this?"

"Couldn't tell you Cal, we don't exactly gossip over coffee."

"Right," she sighed "yeah, you're right."

"Have you talked to her?"

"No, I haven't been able to find her. Her office is locked up like Fort Knox and I can't even go near the Peds floor without Karev glaring at me, it's like he's got some creepy sixth sense."

"Callie, you need to talk to her. Especially now that this is out."

He waved the paper at her.

"Hell, if you don't pull your head out of your ass soon I'm going to have to talk to her myself. I'd really rather she heard it from you."

"I know, me too" her voice was small as she spoke.

"Things were already so messed up, I don't know why I didn't just tell her right away."

"I dunno Cal, why didn't you?"

"I just, I didn't think it would get this far. I thought I'd come home sober that night and just tell her then, but you saw how that turned out. It's selfish and stupid, but just for one night I wanted her to wonder where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing. Like I did after Lauren."

Juan sat down next to her, resting his hand over hers.

"I get it Cal, I really do. It's not a great long term plan though."

Callie snorted, bringing her hands up to rub her temples.

"I know. It wasn't supposed to be."

* * *

><p>Arizona didn't remember having ever seen the ER quite as busy as it was right now. Apparently the heavy rain and a sleeping truck driver made for a perfect storm, since the ER was now packed full of middle school basketball players and their frightened parents. The truck had t-boned a team bus on it's way back from a tournament in Spokane, leaving her, and everyone really, with a very full plate for the night.<p>

She knew it was terrible, but she was actually relieved for a trauma that she could lose herself in, focus solely and completely on saving a life, instead of going back to her office and trying uselessly to sleep, the events of the last few days banging around in her head constantly.

She got through five assessments before finding an emergent surgical case; a twelve year old boy with a collapsed lung, internal bleeding of unknown origin, and an open fracture of his femur.

"Shit," she muttered as she took in extent of his injuries "somebody page Ortho!"

They moved quickly into the OR and she had the boy on the table in no time, working to repair as much as she could, as quickly as she could.

An hour passed as she worked to stop his bleeding, from a laceration to the liver, she'd discovered. She looked around her momentarily and noticed that while his leg was prepped for surgery, there was no one attending to it.

"Where the hell is Ortho?" she yelled to the room more than anyone in particular.

A nurse towards the back of the room with a phone to her ear spoke up.

"Everyone's busy Dr. Robbins, but they said someone should be up in five minutes."

"Make sure that they are! Any longer and this boy will lose his leg."

Arizona didn't even want to think about having to take the boy's leg, frankly the thought made her a little nauseous.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the door swung open and in walked... Callie?

"Callie? What are you doing here?"

Even over her mask, Arizona could tell Callie was giving her a 'duh' look.

"Um, open femur?"

"Right, of course. Just, where's Sofia? The daycare's closed and everyone is here, who's she with?"

Callie picked up a scalpel and made her incision as she spoke.

"Juan picked her up and took her home."

Arizona's hands stilled and her head snapped up so quickly that even the interns sitting in the gallery noticed.

"What?!"

Callie looked up briefly, surprised at the outburst.

"Well, it's not the easiest time to find a babysitter, and he offered. Sofia likes him."

Thinking the matter was settled and going back to her work, Callie - along with the rest of the OR - was surprised by Arizona's slightly screechy yell.

"You left our daughter with your fuck buddy?!"

The OR was dead silent, only the rhythmic beeping of machines could be heard.

"Arizona..."

"No! Don't you dare 'Arizona' me! Don't you dare!"

"Okay, just let me..."

Callie was interrupted again.

"No! It's bad enough you fucked him while I was in the next room, but this is our daughter!"

"Arizona!"

"What?! What could you possibly have to say?!"

"Jesus Christ, Arizona! He's my brother!"

Before Arizona could even begin to formulate a response, every machine in the OR started going off, spurring the surgeons into motion and leaving the discussion for another time.

* * *

><p>"How's your dinner, Sofia?"<p>

Juan spoke softly to the girl, both sitting with bowls of macaroni and cheese.

"Good."

"Why so quiet? You're usually chatting my ear off by now."

Sofia giggled as he tugged his ear.

"Whadda I call you?"

"Well, my name's Juan. You can just call me that."

The little girl shook her head emphatically.

"Why not?"

"Abuelo says it's rude to call grown ups their names."

Juan grimaced slightly.

"Hmm. Well then, what do you want to call me?"

"I dunno. Who are you?"

A look of confusion spread across his face as he looked at the girl.

"I'm Juan. But you don't want to call me that."

Sofia burst into a fit of giggles, confusing him further.

"No! I call Mama, Mama. And Mommy, Mommy. And Zola's dad is Unca Derek. And Aunt Merdith."

"Oooh."

Finally realizing what she meant, he thought for a moment.

"I don't know. Tio? It means the same thing as 'uncle'"

"Okay."

Apparently that was enough for Sofia, because she went right back to eating and began to tell him about her current favorite movie, 'Frozen'.

Juan just shook his head and chuckled as the girl began explaining the plot line to him, though she was interrupted by the door bell.

"Wait here Sof, just let me see who it is."

He got up and headed down the hallway, checking his watch and wondering who the hell it could be at this time. He swung the door open to reveal an older couple standing on the step and smiling up at him.

"Um, hi. Can I help you?"

The man spoke, his voice deep and gruff.

"I could have sworn this was the right address."

The woman, presumably his wife, spoke up, still smiling and apparently cheerful.

"Well Daniel, we don't know it's not. Why don't we ask?"

Then she turned to Juan and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Barbara Robbins and this is my husband Daniel. Do Arizona and Callie live here?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Still don't own anything related to Grey's.**

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><p><em>"Hi, I'm Barbara Robbins and this is my husband Daniel. Do Arizona and Callie live here?"<em>

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><p>Juan stood stock still, mouth hanging open and gawking at the couple on the doorstep, unable to find his words. He was saved from having to speak by Sofia tearing down the hallway.<p>

"Gramma! Grampa!" she shrieked and threw herself at their guests.

Daniel bent down and picked Sofia up, throwing her over his shoulder playfully before resting her on his hip and kissing her on the cheek. Barbara quickly said 'hello' to her granddaughter, ruffling her hair before turning back to Juan, expectantly.

"Oh," he stammered "yeah, sorry. They do. They got caught late at work, a bus crash I think, I'm just watching Sofia for the evening. I'm Juan, by the way, I'm an old friend of Callie's."

He rushed through his explanation before sticking his hand out nervously.

Barbara just smiled and shook his outstretched hand, followed by Daniel, before she spoke again.

"It's okay dear, they didn't know we were coming.."

Daniel interrupted her.

"We didn't even know we were coming."

Barbara glared at her husband, who looked sheepish for having interrupted.

"No, we didn't. We were on our way to Hawaii, but apparently there's some big storm coming up the coast, so we landed in Seattle instead. We tried calling Zona before we came over, but didn't get an answer. We figured we'd see if anyone was home anyways, you never know with that girl if she really is busy or just ignoring your call."

Daniel spoke up again.

"We really don't mean to be a bother, we can just find a hotel for the night."

"No, no. Come in. Sorry, I'm just a little stunned. Sofia's so happy to see you."

Juan opened the door further and gestured for the Robbins' to come in.

"Did you guys want something to eat or to drink? I can get you some coffee if you want, while I try to get a hold of Callie."

The Robbins' walked into the house, Juan leading them into the living room, while Daniel still held Sofia, who was now giggling at something Barbara had said.

"Just water is fine dear, we ate on the plane."

"Sure thing. Mr. Robbins, can I get you anything?"

"Please, call me Daniel. And coffee would be great.

"Alright, a coffee and a water. And Sofia, you still have some dinner to finish."

The little girl pouted at him as he started to coffee maker and poured a glass of water, bringing it back into the living room.

"Can I show Gramma and Grampa my room first?"

"Sure, but ask them if they want to see it first."

Sofia nodded, then addressed her grandparents.

"Wanna see my room?"

Barbara spoke, smiling.

"Of course, sweetie. Which one is it?"

Sofia stood and led her grandparents by the hands towards her room. Once the door had shut behind them and he could hear the little girl chattering away, Juan dug out his phone and dialled Callie's number.

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring._

"Hi, you've reached Callie Torres, I can't get to the phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

_Beeep._

"Hey Cal, it's Juan. Um, just call me back as soon as you can. Arizona's parents are here. Just... Call me."

He hung up the phone, rubbing his eyes and sighing before getting up and pouring Daniel's coffee, pulling cream out of the fridge and sugar out of the cupboard, setting it all down on the table in the living room as everyone emerged from Sofia's room, the little girl giving an impromptu tour.

"And the bathroom is down there," she pointed "and there's a big backyard, and then Mommy's room is down the hall," again she pointed, though towards the hall "and Mama's room is right here across from mine, and Tio sleeps there too sometimes."

Juan's head snapped up at Sofia's observation, meeting the confused eyes of Barbara and Daniel Robbins.

* * *

><p>Since their impromptu screaming match in the OR, Arizona hadn't seen Callie. She had finished her portion of the surgery and rushed off to her next patient, leaving Arizona even more confused as she finished up. Not to mention embarrassed. Usually she was great compartmentalizing and keeping her personal life completely separate from her work. Obviously she had slipped on that today.<p>

She sighed deeply as she began to close the boy up. Callie had a brother? She'd never once mentioned him, not in the entire time they'd known each other. She almost wondered if it had just been a way for Callie to brush her off, just a lie, but then she remembered the overwhelming sense of familiarity she felt when she had met Juan. It had confused the hell out of her then, but now everything was starting to piece together. He looked like Callie, he spoke like Callie, their mannerisms were so similar she could slap herself for not noticing it. There was still the matter of all the noise they'd made coming home drunk the other night, but she hadn't actually heard anything untoward, she had covered her ears before she could hear anything that would make her want to flee into the night sobbing.

She finished closing, knowing she would have to talk to Callie, preferably sooner rather than later. She scrubbed out mindlessly, her thoughts just as jumbled as ever, though the sharp pain that had settled in her chest was replaced by waves of confusion. She just couldn't understand why Callie wouldn't have told her she had a brother, obviously they were fairly close, so it made no sense.

Arizona was pulled out of her thoughts by the shrill noise of her phone ringing.

"Shit."

She quickly dried off her hands and fumbled in her scrub pockets for the ringing nuisance, quickly answering it before it could go to voicemail.

"Yeah?"

"Um... Arizona?"

The voice on the other end was a man's, and vaguely familiar.

"Yes. Who's this?"

There was a pause as the man took a deep breath.

"Um, it's Juan. I wouldn't even be calling you, but I found your number on the fridge and I can't get a hold of Callie, and your parents are here and I'm not sure exactly what to do, and I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but I figured you would. Know what to do, that is."

He spit the words out so quickly and it couldn't help but remind her of the rambling Callie was so prone to when she was nervous, making her smile before his words completely sunk in.

"Wait, did you say my parents are there? As in, at the house?"

"Yeah, and I don't think they like me all that much."

"Shit," she muttered "I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm leaving now."

She ended the call abruptly and hurried towards the attending's lounge, not even bothering to change out of her scrubs, just grabbing her purse and keys and rushing to the exit. Thankfully, that had been her last surgery of the night, since most of the bus crash victims had mostly superficial injuries, and she was free to leave, although she couldn't say she was looking forward to what was sure to be a confrontation with her parents.

Arizona sighed deeply as she got into her car, briefly resting her head on the steering wheel before starting the car and making her way out of the parking lot and towards home, or at least what she still thought of as home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Again, I own nothing recognizable. And I'm really appreciating the reviews I've been getting, it's cool to know people are reading. Also, this chapter will be rated M, unfortunately not for any sexy time, but just some darker themes.**

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><p>It seemed whenever Arizona pulled up to the house lately, she was full of apprehension. She could see the only car in the driveway was Juan's perfectly shiny BMW, meaning her parents must have taken a cab.<p>

Her parents.

The apprehension turned into plain dread at the thought. She hadn't spoken to either of her parents in months; not a call, not an email. After the plane crash, she had avoided contact with them for as long as she could, afraid she was turning into someone they wouldn't recognize, though she had started phoning them once a week at Callie's urging. She was sure they had called her wife, worried, since they used to be very close. Then the whole fiasco with Lauren Boswell happened, and she withdrew again. She had probably spoken to her mother only a handful of times since the affair, and she hadn't said a word to her father. She was ashamed of herself, and apparently it brought out her authority issues, because they had always been rooted in the childish desire to please the Colonel, one that she still harboured, no matter how old she got.

Sweaty, nervous, and still dressed in her navy scrubs, she entered the house cautiously, unsettled by the eery silence. This house was never quiet. Between Sofia's constant monologue, the music Callie always had playing, and Arizona's clumsy nature - only exacerbated by the loss of her leg - the house had never been as quiet as it was now. At least not while it was occupied.

She made her way into the living room, her eyes landing first on a very nervous looking Juan, sitting in the armchair and anxiously picking at his fingernails. And then there were her parents. Sitting side by side on the couch, Barbara and Daniel Robbins were mostly still, her mother only moving to take a sip of her water. Even without seeing his face, she could tell her father had a hard stare fixed at Juan, perfected by years in the Marine Corp.

She cleared her throat, the noise shattering the eery silence and pulling all attention towards her. Uncomfortable, she spoke the first question that came floating into her head.

"Where's Sofia?"

Juan spoke softly, still picking at his fingernails, though less intensely.

"I put her to bed about twenty minutes ago. She's out like a light."

"Thanks Juan" she murmured, putting off the inevitable confrontation.

Her father apparently had no such reservations, and stood, turning to face her, voice steely and hard as he spoke.

"Arizona, who the hell is this man?"

Her voice faltered as she prepared to speak to her father for the first time in months.

"I... Daddy, it's not important. What are you guys doing here?"

"Arizona Robbins don't you dare change the subject. We haven't heard a word from you in months, and we show up here to this man, only to be informed, by _Sofia_, that he sleeps in Callie's room. And you apparently sleep down the hall when you bother to spend the night at all. I don't know what the hell is going on Arizona, but this isn't you. This is not the daughter I raised."

Feeling her issues with authority stinging behind her eyes, Arizona let out a harsh breath, voice breaking as she spoke, harsher than she had anticipated.

"The daughter you raised is gone. She's gone and she's not coming back."

"Arizona!" her mother cried out.

"No, mom stop. I'm not the same. Not since Idaho, and I wish I could be, but the more I try to force it the more things turn to shit."

"Arizona, language!"

"Dad! I am a grown woman! Believe me when I say that poor language is the least of my transgressions. And Juan isn't Callie's boyfriend, so stop giving him that damned look!"

"Arizona, you will not speak..."

She cut her father off mid-sentence.

"I will speak however I please! You have no right to show up unannounced here and try to parent me! And quit giving him that fucking look!"

She was screaming now, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she continued.

"He's not the problem! Callie's not cheating! I'm the cheater! I'm the adulterous bitch! I'm the one who fucked up my marriage, because I'm not the daughter you raised and I don't know how to get her back! I'm not your good man in a storm, and maybe I never was. Maybe this is really me and it just took a plane crash to bring it out!"

Arizona couldn't remember when, but at some point tears had started streaming down her face, sobs wracking her body. She could vaguely see her parents outlines moving, then she heard her father's voice, cold and detached.

"We're leaving Arizona. Don't bother calling until you've had an attitude adjustment."

"Daniel.."

She could hear tears in her mothers voice, but the Colonel cut her off.

"No, Barbara. She's said all she needs to."

Arizona collapsed onto the couch as she heard the front door shut, her head falling into her hands as she struggled to keep some type of composure.

That semblance of composure shattered when she heard a small voice in front of her.

"Mommy, what's wrong?"

Sofia stood in front of her in her fish pyjamas, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and Arizona completely lost it, unable to do anything but sob and make what she was sure was a hideous crying face.

Having forgotten Juan was still in the room, his soft voice surprised her.

"You know how sometimes when you're really tired, really little things can make you cry?"

"Mhmm" the girl hummed in response.

"Your mom's just had a really long day and needs some sleep, that's all."

"Okay, night Mommy. I hope you feel better in the morning. Love ya."

Sofia gave Arizona a clumsy hug and placed a kiss on her cheek, before being led back to her room by Juan.

Alone in the room for a moment, Arizona desperately tried to pull herself together, with little success. She was surprised to feel the couch sink beside her and a warm hand rest on her back. Though it came from an unlikely source, she was grateful for the small comfort, even leaning into the man's side.

As her sobbing began to taper off, Juan spoke.

"You know, it's easy to preach."

She looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Hmm?"

She wiped a few tears as she watched him think for a moment.

"It's easy to preach, about being a good man in a storm. Until you're in the storm."

"Yeah..." Arizona whispered.

"I'm serious," he looked at her, face solemn "everybody goes on about how they'd react to something, or how they'd handle a tragedy, but it's just talk. You don't know until you're in it. And it's rarely pretty."

He reached over the table and grabbed the box of Kleenex sitting there, handing it to her.

"You some kind of expert?"

He snorted at her question.

"Dear God I hope not."

They both sat quietly for a moment before he spoke again.

"I grew up poor. Not like the "didn't have the latest clothes" poor, but the kind of poor with no electricity or running water."

Her eyebrows furrowed, not understanding where he was going.

"My mother came to America when she was a teenager, took all her savings and left her whole life behind, and came to Miami. She did all sorts of odd jobs, cooking, cleaning houses, I think she even had a construction job at one point. Whatever she could get, which, when you don't have papers, isn't too much. She was working as a housekeeper when I was born, worked everyday up until she went into labor and was back less than a week after I was born. Tough fucking woman. She always used to say how lucky I was, I'd been born in the United States, I was an American citizen and no one could take that away from me. When we lived in Miami we were poor, but we got by, she worked all the time, but somehow always had time to be on me about my homework and my grades."

He laughed, his forehead crinkling as he smiled, and Arizona could see Callie so clearly in him.

"When I was about ten, ICE showed up at our apartment. My mom kept showing them our papers, telling them she was there legally and I was an American citizen, but they wouldn't listen. We stayed in a detention center for about a week, then we were put on a flight to Bogota. No money, no papers, just the few things I had been able to grab and what we had on our person. I had my birth certificate, she had always told me how important it was, but besides that we had nothing. When we landed at El Dorado, the ICE agents escorted us off the plane and left us at baggage claim. We didn't have any bags, but we sat there for hours. We didn't even have the money to make a phone call, and even if we could have, my mom's family wasn't from Bogota. They lived in a little village in the West of the country, and we had no way to get there, or even let them know where we were. We must have sat there for at least six or seven hours. My mom cried for at least two hours, but when she was finished she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the terminal, towards where they had the taxis. I don't remember too much from the first year we were in Colombia, just that we stayed in some shitty apartment in Ciudad Bolivar and I didn't go to school."

Arizona sat back in the couch, listening to the story and noticing more and more similarities between Callie and the man in front of her.

"After a year we took a bus out West, closer to where her family was. We lived in another slum for a while before we moved out to the village her family was from. I went back to school, and she got a job in a little shop her cousin owned, but she was miserable. She was never on me about my school work anymore and the light just sort of went out of her. She had left everything behind when she went to Miami, but now she was back where she started. I overheard her once talking to one of her sisters, saying that she was supposed to be the sacrifice. She was supposed to work herself ragged so that I could have the life she couldn't have dreamt of. She would cry with her sister every night, saying that she didn't know how it had happened, but she thought my father had done it. I tried to ask about it; about my father, about why we had left Miami, but she'd always brush me off."

Juan paused, taking a sip from the discarded glass of water on the table.

"Just after my fourteenth birthday, I came home one night and my mother was packing up all our stuff. All she said was that we were leaving; she didn't say where or why, just that we were leaving, and we were leaving right that minute. I had no idea why she was so frantic, but I went with it because I'd never seen her that scared, so I figured it must be bad. I started walking towards the main road, but she grabbed me into the trees, saying it was safer. I was confused, but it was the 90s, and there had been fighting in the area recently, so I followed her. We walked for maybe an hour, probably more, until she stopped, reached around in her bag, and handed me my birth certificate. She told me I had to keep it no matter what, and then gave me a piece of paper with an address on it. She said if we got separated, I was to go to the address and show them my birth certificate."

"An American embassy?" Arizona whispered her question.

"Yeah, or a consulate, I can't really remember."

"What happened?"

She found herself strangely enthralled in the story, as if hearing someone else's pain made hers more bearable.

"We walked for a few days. Sometimes we'd stop in a little town, or hop a ride on the back of a truck. One night we came into a little village just after sunset, it was so quiet, like nobody had been there in weeks. I remember it freaked me out, but we were tired and hadn't eaten in a few days, so we went further into the village. By the time we saw the bodies, it was too late. Apparently rebels had attacked the village during the day and it had been a bit of a bloodbath. They were digging a hole when we found them, probably a mass grave. They saw us and started shooting. I heard my mom yell for me to run, so I did. I had always been really fast, so I just ran as fast as I could, for as long as I could. At first I heard shooting behind me, but after I'd run for a while without hearing anything, I turned around to check on my mom. She wasn't there. Apparently my instincts took over and I just booked it, not realizing she wasn't with me. Everything was so loud, and I could hear my heart in my ears, and my breathing seemed like a hurricane in the trees because it was so quiet where I'd stopped. I was starting to walk back a bit, figuring I'd just outrun her, when I noticed the blood on my arms. It was all over the back of my shirt too, but no matter how much I poked and prodded at myself I couldn't find where it was coming from. When I realized what had happened I just dropped, collapsed right on the spot and didn't move until sometime the next day."

Arizona wiped at her eyes, crying not for herself this time.

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, it was. I guess I've never really been the same, but the first couple of years after it happened, I just shut down completely. Didn't speak, barely looked at anyone, and lashed out at anyone who tried to reach out. I ended up at the address my mom gave me, though I can't remember how, and gave them my birth certificate. Came back to the US, to Miami. I don't think I spoke a word to anyone the first year I was back. I barely spoke to anyone until I was about twenty, actually. Before that, when I did interact with anyone I was aggressive and angry, even violent sometimes."

"How'd you get through it?"

"I played soccer," he stated simply "it distracted me enough that I didn't have to feel the pain. And then when I was ready to deal with it, I had something to fall back on, something comfortable that I could lose myself in when it was too much."

They both sat quietly, Juan sipping from Barbara's water glass while Arizona ran over the thoughts in her head.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"What for?"

"For this. For talking to me. For being honest. You have no reason to, not after how I've treated Callie."

Juan looked pensive for a moment.

"Maybe not. But I've been where you are, more or less. And I get it. You're not yourself right now, you may never fully be yourself again - not that I'm excusing your behaviour - but the first couple years are hard, and you do things you regret. People don't get that recovery from something so traumatic is measured in years, not months or weeks. It's not something you just get over. Even when you think you're fine, sometimes it'll just hit you out of nowhere."

Arizona nodded.

"And I love Callie, but she can be difficult sometimes. I doubt she's totally innocent in this."

"Yeah" Arizona whispered again, snapping out of her reverie when she noticed Juan writing something on a small piece of paper.

"What's that?"

"I used to go to support meetings, for PTSD, before my career took off. A woman in one of the meetings wrote this out for me, I think it's from a song, but I'm not sure. It's sort of turned into a mantra when I'm having a rough time, strange as that sounds. Here."

He handed her the piece of paper before gathering up his jacket and speaking again.

"I can stay if you want, but I have an apartment full of boxes that need unpacking and I don't want to intrude on your space."

Arizona looked up at him, surprised by how comfortable she felt around him, given that just this morning she had hated him with a passion.

"No, I'll be fine. Go unpack your boxes, I should get some sleep anyways."

He shot her a kind smile, lightly squeezing her shoulder before letting himself out.

Only when she heard the door close behind him did she look down at the paper he'd given her, taking in the words in his messy scrawl and smiling.

_If I was meant to die it would've killed me_  
><em>There must be a reason that I still breathe<em>  
><em>I don't have the tools to rebuild me<em>  
><em>But I still believe that one day I could feel free<em>  
><em>And my body can be mine again<em>  
><em>My eyes can learn how to shine again<em>  
><em>My inner child won't have to hide and then<em>  
><em>When I'm strong then love could be invited in<em>  
><em>Sweet God that's all I ask, of thee<em>  
><em>I'm willing to give what you demand of me<em>  
><em>I'm learning to embrace the reality<em>  
><em>That life doesn't always turn out how it's planned to be<em>  
><em>I didn't deserve what was handed me<em>  
><em>Only one who can grant happiness is me<em>

Arizona read and re-read the words on the paper before she went to bed, smiling softly to herself at the turn her evening had taken. She had thought she would go to bed angry and crying, but instead she felt strangely hopeful.


	9. Chapter 9

**Still don't own anything recognizable. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and favorited.**

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><p>Callie had emerged from her third back-to-back surgery to find several missed calls and four voicemails on her phone. She made her way towards the attending's lounge as she listened to the first message.<p>

"_Hey Cal, it's Juan. Um, just call me back as soon as you can. Arizona's parent's are here. Just... Call me."_

Shit. Arizona's parents had been calling her the past couple of months for check ups apparently Arizona herself hadn't been keeping in contact and they were worried. She knew Arizona had had a rough time knowing what to say to her parents after the crash, and since they'd reconciled after Lauren Boswell, she hadn't actually seen the woman speak to her parents. Before the plane crash, they would Skype at least once a week, and seemed pretty close. Certainly closer than she was with her parents, anyways.

The second message was also from Juan, but the tone of his voice was vaguely panicked this time, and she could hear shouting in the background.

"_Callie, you need to get home as soon as you can. Seriously, if what you're doing isn't saving a life, drop it."_

The message ended abruptly and Callie was hurriedly gathering her things together, only one arm through her sweater as she packed up her purse and shoved her scrubs into her locker.

The third message began to play. It was also Juan, and he sounded exhausted, though the shouting in the background had disappeared.

"_Hey Cal, I'm heading back to my apartment for the night. Arizona is at the house with Sofia. Things are... Well, things didn't go great with the Robbins'. You should probably talk to Arizona. I know things are weird with the two of you, but I think she really needs someone right now."_

The seriousness of his voice worried her. She was already rushing to her car, but she picked up her pace even more, barely registering the fourth message until she sat in the driver's seat.

_"Hi Callie, it's Barbara Robbins. I don't know if you've spoken to Arizona, but I'd just like to apologize for Daniel's behaviour. I'd like to have coffee with you. I don't know if either of us could convince Arizona to come, but just let her know I'd like to see her as well. Daniel won't be there, just me. Anyways, call me back when you can."_

Callie shut off her phone, leaning back in her seat and breathing deeply before she started the engine.

The amount of traffic on her route home so late at night was almost non-existent, and Callie made it home in half the time it would normally take her. She pulled into the driveway, noticing only Arizona's car was there and that there were no lights on in the house. When she reached the door, she found it unlocked, she really had to speak to Juan about locking up behind himself.

The house was dark, silent, and completely still as Callie made her way down the hall. The door to the guest room was open and the bed was made, empty. Her confusion resolved itself as she moved into the living room and found Arizona lying asleep on the couch, still dressed in her scrubs, her shoes discarded by the table.

Callie couldn't help the sharp pain that settled in her chest at the sight of Arizona, curled up into the fetal position, tissues on the table in front of her, and eyes still puffy from crying. She reached for the blanket draped over the back of the couch, covering Arizona with it and tucking the edges in around her before sitting on the coffee table opposite the blonde.

Almost of it's own volition, her hand had reached out to brush a stray piece of hair out of Arizona's face, before simply resting on the other woman's cheek, lightly stroking the soft skin.

When Arizona shifted in her sleep, Callie quickly removed her hand, instead leaning over to press a soft kiss to the blonde's forehead.

"I love you, Arizona."

She whispered softly, afraid to break the silence in the house, but Callie could feel tears burning behind her eyes as she pulled her gaze away from the sleeping woman and made her way to the bedroom.

Callie stripped down to her underwear and an old t-shirt and quickly brushed her teeth before climbing into bed. Aside from her drunken night out with Juan, she always left Arizona's side of the bed untouched. The covers were tightly tucked in and the pillows arranged neatly, almost as if waiting for someone. It was stupid, she knew, but when she reached for Arizona in the night, it helped to find a made bed, she could sleepily try to convince herself her wife was just working late or on call and would be back in the morning to untuck the blankets and mess up the pillows.

Usually she was able to fall into a restless sleep, convincing herself she wasn't lonely and missing Arizona as badly as she felt she was, but tonight was different. She lay in bed, staring at the paint on the ceiling, for more than an hour before grudgingly getting up and padding her way into the hallway, towards the kitchen.

She started to pour herself a glass of water, before the woman sleeping on the couch once again caught her attention. In the past, when they'd had some minor fight and Arizona had decided to sleep on the couch, she would often wake up in the middle of the night missing her and come out into the living room to wake her up and bring her back to bed. Even if they'd still been angry or upset with each other, it had just been a reminder that they still loved one another. The fact that she could no longer do that hit Callie harder than she thought it would and she felt the tears she thought had disappeared make their way down her face.

Water forgotten on the counter, Callie made a decision and headed into the guest room, climbing into the unmade bed and wrapping herself up completely in sheets and blankets that smelled like Arizona, burying her face into a pillow in an attempt to stop the tears making their way down her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Grey's Anatomy and it's character's do not belong to me. Also, in response to one of the reviews I got; Juan is totally fictional**

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><p><em>1999<em>

The sun shone intensely over the field at Miami Jackson Senior High and Callie wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. She couldn't even imagine how anyone was running around kicking a ball in this weather, but the fact that she was even here testified that they were. She was in her last year of medical school, and she and a number of her classmates had volunteered to provide first aid and other medical assistance at the game today. Callie wasn't exactly sure what the big deal was; it wasn't a high school or college game, some sort of semi-pro team she guessed, but there were news crews swarming and men in suits with clipboards in the stands.

Soccer had never been her thing, but she enjoyed watching the game, and it wasn't a secret that she had an interest in and a gift for orthopedics. Also, since the game was being played in Allapattah, no "real" doctors had volunteered. Both teams had first aid kits, but not much else, since they played out of community centers in poorer neighbourhoods where resources were scarce. And that's why she was here, she really just wanted to give back, help out where she could.

"Ouch! Somebody's down."

Her friend Samantha had hopped up from her seat beside Callie as a player went down hard.

"Shit" Callie swore as she watched the boy try to get back up, before being yelled at by a coach and staying put.

The boy limped over to where they sat, grudgingly letting the coach hold some of his weight before throwing himself into the chair across from Samantha and Callie.

"Hey," Samantha greeted "what happened?"

The boy said nothing, just held out his foot, unlacing his shoe and taking it off.

Samantha looked to Callie. This was another reason she had come along; a lot of the players didn't speak much English.

"Que paso?"

Still, the boy said nothing.

"Alright then," Callie started "I'm just going to take a look at your foot."

Samantha got up and made her way to their bag of supplies, pulling out some bandages and a bottle of water while Callie tried to interact with the boy some more.

"You're very good, you know. I saw more than one of the scouts watching you."

Again, he didn't speak, but he relaxed a bit into the chair.

Callie figured she'd try Spanish again, since English wasn't getting her anywhere.

"De donde eres?"

"Miami."

He spoke harshly, voice deeper than she had expected, since he appeared to be maybe sixteen.

"Hey, sorry, just asking."

"Why? Because I'm brown and angry?"

Callie just laughed, surprised.

"How do you know I'm not brown and angry too?"

"Because you have money."

The way he said it was so angry and spiteful that Callie raised her eyebrow and gave him a look.

"You don't know that."

"Please, your shoes cost more than the house I grew up in."

Callie gave him another challenging look.

"How do you know I didn't steal them?"

The boy actually laughed at that, although it was humorless.

"You're Callie Torres, you could buy and sell everyone on that field without breaking a sweat. Just say the word and Daddy would do it."

He got closer to her, eyes flashing angrily and his accent becoming thicker with every word he spoke.

Callie sat back, bewildered.

"How the hell...?"

He interrupted.

"You don't remember me, do you? My mom used to work for your family. Your dad ruined my life."

Her mouth dropped open as recognition flooded her. Suddenly the angry, sweaty, teenager in front of her was a little boy, laughing as he ran away from Aria in their yard.

"JJ?"

The boy stood, pulling his cleat on over the bandage Callie had wrapped his foot in, and turned, jogging back to the field, but not before levelling a hard stare at Callie.

"Don't ever call me that."

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><p>The week after the game, Callie made her way to a run down community center in a seedier part of Allapattah, determined to finish the conversation she'd started with the angry boy. She hadn't been able to forget the encounter, she'd even spoken to Aria about it, which had raised more questions than it answered.<p>

JJ had been maybe about ten years younger than her, and until he was nine or ten, he had always been around. Many of the staff had kids who would occasionally be at the house, but for some reason JJ had always been around. Nobody really minded or questioned it, he was sweet and well behaved and he never got in anyone's way. She and Aria spent a lot of time with him, despite the age difference, and she could even remember a Christmas he had spent at the Torres residence. His mother had been working over the holiday, and they had no family in the area, so JJ had hung out in the kitchen with the staff. Once Carlos and Lucia were otherwise occupied, Callie and Aria had snuck into the kitchen with candies from their stockings and given them to the boy. She could still remember the way his face had lit up upon seeing them, and he had rushed over to hug them both.

The boy she remembered had obviously changed over the years, and as she came upon the field she spotted him almost instantly. He stood off to the side and didn't seem to interact with anyone, but once the drills started he was intense and engaged, easily the most focused player on the pitch. She wondered what had happened in the years since she'd seen him, but figured it probably wasn't anything good. The last time she'd seen him, he was laughing and kicking a ball around with her and Aria in their back yard. Her father had come to collect her and her sister, leaving him kicking the ball alone, and then she hadn't seen him again. Until last week, that is.

She remembered the week after she'd last seen him, she and Aria had gone to stay with Addison's family. They had come home from school one day to police and immigration swarming the house and they had been quickly ushered away. When they came back to the house, most of the staff was gone, replaced with strangers. And JJ had been gone with them.

As the practice ended, Callie stood at the edge of the field and watched the players split off into groups. JJ stayed by himself though, quickly changing and packing his stuff away.

"JJ!" she called out, despite knowing his aversion to the name. She didn't know what else to call him.

His head snapped up and his eyes narrowed as he made his way towards her, eyeing her warily.

He spoke as he approached her, voice hard as she'd come to expect.

"I've told you not to call me that."

"Sorry. I don't actually know your name."

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

Callie pushed her hair out of her face, nervously.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'd like to though."

She noticed the look of surprise that took over his features before he schooled them back to neutral.

"Why?"

"To be honest, I'm not totally sure."

He laughed again, though this one seemed more sincere.

"Fair enough."

"I just... I feel like my father has been responsible for a lot of pain, probably more than I even know, and I'd just like to make up for some of it."

"So you feel guilty?"

"Yeah, I guess. But it's not just that. I remember you when you were younger. You were so happy and energetic, full of life. And I hate that he took that from you. It's not fair, and it's not right. You were a kid and you didn't do anything to deserve it."

He looked down briefly, shifting on his feet, before looking up at Callie with a look she couldn't decipher.

"Probably not, no. But I know why he did it. The fact that I exist could destroy the image he's worked so hard to cultivate."

"What?"

Her face much have showed her confusion, because he gestured for her to sit on the bleachers before he continued.

"Callie, Carlos Torres is my father."

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><p><em>Present Day<em>

"Cal, you do realize that it's five in the morning, right?"

Juan yawned as he spoke, sleep evident in his voice.

"I'm well aware of the time Juan, but who else was I supposed to call?"

"To freak out about Arizona to? I feel like you could have handled that yourself."

"Oh, shut up. I'm being serious."

"I know, I know. And I'm trying to listen, but I literally just woke up. Give me a second."

"I just... What am I doing, Juan? I'm still so crazy in love with her. And even though I know love isn't always enough, and even though it was me who ended the relationship, all I want to do is go out into the living room and hold her and tell her everything is okay."

Juan yawned again.

"Then do that."

"But everything isn't okay!"

"Okay, then don't. Cal, either way, at some point you're going to have to leave your room, and she will probably be there. I can't tell you what to do."

Callie took a deep breath and snuggled further into the covers before speaking.

"I slept in the guest room last night."

"Hmm? Why?"

"It smells like Arizona. I can't sleep in our room, not when it's just me."

She could hear Juan let out a deep breath over the phone.

"Callie, you need to talk to Arizona about this. Not me. You guys are both avoiding each other to the point of insanity, mostly mine. Just sit down and talk like adults, tell her what you're telling me and see what she has to say."

"It's just all such a mess."

"I know it is Cal, but talking to me about it doesn't make it any less of a mess."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Thank God, now can I please go back to sleep? You're not the only one who had a long night yesterday."

"Okay, okay. Go to sleep. Talk to you later?"

"Yup, try to get some more sleep Cal."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too."

Callie kicked the covers off her body after ending the call, swinging her legs off the bed and standing up, stretching before making her way into the hall, still unsure of how she'd go about speaking to Arizona, but knowing she had to.


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own anything you recognize.**

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><p>"Arizona."<p>

Callie was whispering, her face only about a foot from the sleeping woman, but she still felt like she was being much too loud. She gently rested her hand on Arizona's shoulder, before moving it up to cup her cheek, softly running her thumb along her jaw.

"Arizona, wake up."

The blonde stirred slightly, moving into Callie's touch.

"Arizona.."she whispered a bit louder.

"Calliope?"

Arizona was slowly regaining consciousness, her voice laced thickly with sleep and confusion.

"Yeah, it's me. I need to talk to you."

Arizona cracked one eye open, still huddling underneath the thin blanket covering her.

"Right now? I'm sleeping."

Callie couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her throat, finding sleepy Arizona unspeakably adorable.

"I see that." she chuckled "Please Arizona, it's important."

"Mmmkay," Arizona rubbed her eyes "what time is it?"

"About five thirty."

At that, the blonde's eyes snapped open.

"Five thirty?" she groaned "Calliope, I have to be at work in a hour."

Callie at least had the good sense to look sheepish.

"Sorry. I didn't know that. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"No, no, I'm awake. I should get ready anyways, can you talk while I brush my teeth?"

"I want to talk _to_ you Arizona, not _at_ you."

Arizona sat up tiredly, smoothing her hair down uselessly, as it still stuck out in odd directions.

"Okay," she said softly "I might need to ask for a rain check then, I really don't have that much time before my shift and I want to able to give you my full attention."

Callie nodded, understanding.

"Yeah, it's probably best if you're not rushing out the door for this. It's okay, it'll give me a little bit of time to get my head together."

Arizona gave her a soft smile, gently squeezing her hand before standing up and gathering her things together, making her way to the bathroom to wash up.

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><p>It was nine thirty that same morning when Callie found herself sitting in a coffee shop in a touristy area of Capitol Hill, on her third espresso and picking at a dry muffin. She had dropped Sofia off at the hospital day care as soon as it was open and then called Barbara Robbins. Her head was a mess and she wasn't entirely sure why she had done it, but she'd always gotten along very well with Arizona's mother, and the older woman was just as baffled by Arizona lately as Callie was, so she supposed it couldn't hurt. She still planned to speak with Arizona later, but figured that starting with Barbara would be a way to ease herself into what was sure to be a day of difficult conversations.<p>

Apparently lost in her thoughts, Callie hadn't even noticed Barbara Robbins until the woman was pulling out the chair opposite from her, coffee in hand.

"Barbara! I'm so sorry, I totally spaced out!"

She stood and embraced the older woman quickly, before they both settled into their seats.

"No worries Callie, you look tired."

"Oh, you know, long shift last night. Bus accident.

"Ah, yes. The man at your house last night was telling us."

Callie laughed in spite of herself.

"Oh, poor Juan, he's been on the receiving end of a whole lot of crazy lately."

At Barbara's confused look, she continued.

"Barbara, Juan is my half brother. He just got a job in Seattle and he's been spending a lot of time with Sofia and I, since he doesn't know anyone else here."

The older woman burst out laughing.

"Oh God, that makes it so much worse! Daniel assumed he was a boyfriend of yours or something and was giving him a hard time. That's putting it mildly actually, he yelled for quite a while. Please do apologize to him for me."

Callie laughed out loud, covering her mouth so as not to show the cafe the muffin she'd just taken a bite of.

"I'll be sure to do that. Poor guy, I've been putting all my stuff on him lately."

Barbara looked pensive for a moment.

"You and Arizona have split up?"

Again, Callie paused and took a bite of her muffin before speaking.

"Yeah, we have."

She spoke softly and look at her hands as she did so.

"I'm so sorry dear, I really am."

"Yeah," Callie almost whispered "me too."

Barbara took a sip of her coffee and shook her head, speaking again.

"She hasn't been herself in a while."

Callie just nodded.

"I'm not sure exactly what happened, and it's really none of my business, but this isn't Arizona. At least not the Arizona I remember."

"No," Callie nodded "it's not. After the plane crash, she didn't really come back. There were little moments when she was the woman I married again, but they were few and far between."

The older woman hummed, nodding.

"You know, she's been like this before."

Callie looked up, surprised.

"Really? When we met she was so... perky. Happy. Almost nauseatingly so."

Barbara laughed softly.

"Yeah, that's the Arizona I remember. But after Tim died, she got like this. She closed off, started drinking, we didn't hear from her for long stretches of time, she just sort of went into a tailspin. We drove ourselves crazy trying to snap her out of it, but she's a grown woman, and we could never make her do anything she didn't want to anyways."

"I didn't know that," Callie whispered "she never talks about Tim."

"I know. They were so close, when he died it was like a part of her died with him. And I don't think she ever really dealt with it either, just put it all in a box at the back of her mind."

Callie laughed, humorlessly.

"Yeah, that sounds like Arizona. Her famous compartmentalizing."

"Yeah, she gets that from her father. Can't say it's one of her more endearing qualities."

Callie nodded once again, sipping her drink.

"I'd tend to agree with that. Getting her to talk about her feelings is like pulling teeth sometimes."

Barbara made a small noise of agreement.

"She wasn't always like that, it came about more after Tim died. A lot of things changed after Tim died. Did you know she used to talk about having five or six children. And she was serious. She and Tim both wanted big families, they always said they'd live next to each other so their kids could be close."

Barbara laughed, only stopping when she noticed Callie's shocked look.

"She said she'd never wanted kids."

"Oh," Barbara sipped her drink again, before speaking quietly "I forgot that was what she told people. After Tim died, she just decided she'd never have kids. I thought when she met the right person, those dreams would come back, but I think for her that was an idea that was just so wrapped up in Timothy."

"I had no idea. She never mentioned anything about it, just said she didn't want kids. When Sofia was born she was so happy, and I've never doubted how much she loves Sofia, I just figured that because of her job the idea of kids scared her."

"She switched her specialty after Tim died, she was originally going to be a trauma surgeon, even flirted with the idea of enlisting. After he died, she switched into Pediatrics. About the same time she started saying she didn't want kids."

Callie sat shocked, muffin forgotten in front of her.

"I... I never... She's never mentioned any of that."

Barbara reached across the table and took Callie's hands in her own.

"Honey, she never talks about it. Not with us, not with anyone. After she finished at Hopkins, she moved across the country and put everything in her past behind her. It's not healthy, but it's what she does, what she's always done; when things are too hard she breaks down, and when she's gathered herself back up she puts it all behind her and refuses to acknowledge it."

Callie could feel unwanted tears stinging at her eyes once again.

"I just figured it was the plane crash, or the way I dealt with everything after it."

"Oh honey, no. I love my daughter, and she has so many wonderful qualities, but this is how she handles her grief, and it's rarely pretty. The plane crash was probably a trigger, and a very understandable one, but this is classic Arizona."

By now Callie was sniffling despite her best attempts to keep it together, and Barbara handed her a napkin.

"What changed? After Tim died, how did she get back to herself?"

Barbara let out a deep sigh.

"Callie, if I knew, I'd tell you. I think she just has to decide she's ready. I'm sorry, I know that's no help."

Callie wiped at her eyes with the napkin.

"No, it makes sense. It puts Malawi in perspective."

"Malawi?"

"When she won the Carter Madison grant."

Recognition dawned on Barbara's face.

"Right. I remember that. Yeah, that was probably a much smaller version of this. She panics, sometimes. Usually it takes a bit more than that to push her into full on freak out mode, but apparently not always. I bet you didn't think that her leaving you at the airport, bound for Africa, would be a mild version of her panicking."

Callie laughed lightly, noting the teasing tone in the older woman's voice.

"She told you about that, huh?"

Barbara nodded as she spoke.

"Not so much told me, as incoherently sobbed it over a long distance phone call."

Callie chuckled lightly in spite of herself.

"I miss her. My Arizona."

Barbara squeezed her hands in a comforting gesture.

"I know sweetheart, and I think she's still in there somewhere. But I also don't think you should spend your life waiting to see if she comes back. It's a recipe for heartache."

Again, Callie nodded, wiping her eyes on her napkin.

"I know," she whispered "and that's why we've separated. But either way I still miss the woman I love. Desperately."

She bowed her head and willed herself not to cry in public and in front of Barbara Robbins, but cry she did. She was only mildly embarrassed when the older woman took the seat next to her and pulled her into a motherly embrace, but she was crying so much lately that she couldn't bring herself to care, it was just nice to have someone who understood.


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't Grey's Anatomy, or anything else you recognize.**

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><p>April Kepner had never been a big fan of the bar scene. Between her religious, rural upbringing and her natural tendency to be something of a homebody, bars and clubs had just never really appealed to her. Even during college and med school, when most people were letting loose with the help of an alcoholic beverage or two, she had little interest in going out and drinking or partying. Only once she had started her residence at Seattle Grace after the merger did she start spending time in a bar on a semi regular basis. As far as bars went, Joe's was reasonably sedate and not excessively raucous, and she had had her share of good times there.<p>

Tonight, however, was not one of those times. She was quite pregnant and had been enjoying a relaxing night in with a movie and a bowl of ice cream mixed with cereal when Joe had called, asking if she'd be able to come deal with a very inebriated Arizona Robbins. The two had become unlikely friends, and had she been less pregnant, or even just had more energy, she would have been happy to come drag the other woman out of the bar and back to her apartment to sleep it off. If Jackson hadn't been working that night, she would have dragged him along to help, but as it was, she walked into Joe's alone, immediately spying the blonde surgeon swaying on her barstool and speaking animatedly to Joe.

She nodded to the bartender.

"Hey, Joe."

"Hey April, sorry about this. I wasn't sure who else to call and I didn't realize you were so far along. Congrats, by the way."

April smiled in spite of herself.

"Thanks. Hey Arizona, you ready to go?"

The other woman looked up, apparently only just noticing her arrival.

"April!" she turned to Joe "Why'd you call April? she needs her rest."

"I know, Dr. Robbins. But I'm about to close up and I doubt you could make it home yourself."

Arizona pursed her lips but said nothing, agreed with his assessment.

"Do you think you can walk to the car?" April asked.

"Hmmm. No."

From the way she was swaying in her seat and her reputation as a particularly clumsy drunk, April had no doubt Arizona would practically need to be carried out.

"I don't think I'll be able to do this," she realized aloud "is there anyone else I can call?"

Joe rested his hands on the bar as he spoke.

"I've got a bad back, otherwise I'd help you. Plus you'd have to get her out of the car. I just figured I probably shouldn't call Dr. Torres."

"Yeah," April sighed "that's probably a good call. Arizona, give me your phone."

The drunken surgeon fumbled in her bag for a moment before handing the device to April.

"Who can I call for you, Arizona?"

Arizona looked pensive for a moment before she spoke, slurring her words.

"The most recent call. Just hit redial."

April nodded, finding the number and hitting send. She waited for a few moments as it rang, before directing her to a generic voicemail message.

"No answer."

"Just keep trying it. Someone'll pick up."

April simply nodded again, dialling the number twice more before a man's voice answered, gruff and out of breath.

"Yeah?"

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><p>"What did you want to be when you were little?"<p>

Juan looked up at the voice of the woman across from him, soft and curious as she looked at him, wearing nothing but a smile and his sheet.

"Hmm. When I was really little I wanted to be a fire fighter... I'm not exactly sure why."

He laughed lightly before speaking again.

"Why?"

She blushed ever so slightly, her dark skin tinged with red.

"It's going to sound stupid."

"I don't mind."

He smiled softly at her, tucking a strand of unruly hair behind her ear.

"Well, the last guy I dated... Things ended so badly, and really strangely. So I guess I'm just trying to justify to myself that we've already slept together by learning more about you."

He started to speak, but she interrupted.

"Sorry, that sounds kind of crazy now that I say it out loud."

Juan just smiled at her again, this time speaking uninterrupted.

"Hey, that's alright. We've all got our crazy. Besides, I think given that this was our fourth date, we're doing things shockingly traditionally. Some might even call us prudish."

He gave her a goofy grin as she laughed, visibly relaxing.

"You know, you're right. I didn't even think of that. How about we remedy that?"

It was Juan's turn to laugh as she gave him a lascivious smile before leaning forward to connect their lips.

They were locked in a heated embrace when a phone rang, causing momentary pause, his lips connected to her pulse point.

"It's not mine" she gasped breathlessly.

"If it's important they'll leave a message."

His voice sent vibrations through her body as he spoke, pulling her on top of him easily.

She straddled him, running her hands down his chest as the phone rang again.

"Ignore it" he all but grunted.

Her hands raked through his hair, tugging him up towards her and kissing him hard as his hands roamed the exposed expanse of her back, running down to where the sheet had dropped from her body.

And then the phone rang again.

"Hijo de la gran puta!"

She couldn't help laughing at his exasperated outburst, remaining more or less in his lap as he answered the phone, only hearing his end of the conversation.

"Yeah?"

His voice was gruff and he was slightly out of breath.

"So why are you calling me?"

She couldn't help tracing the outline of his jaw as he spoke.

"Damn it. Yeah, okay. No, it's fine. Yeah. Okay. Give me a half hour or so."

He tossed his phone onto the end table, sighing roughly.

"You have to go, don't you?"

Juan sighed again.

"Yeah, I do. My sister is in the middle of a strange and very messy divorce, and apparently I have to go pick up her drunken ex at some bar."

She giggled lightly against his chest.

"Why, exactly?"

He had stood up and started to gather his clothes together, looking thoroughly pissed off.

"Because according to a woman with the most annoying voice I've ever heard, she's too pregnant to carry a clumsy drunk around and I was the last number dialled."

Again, she had to stifle her giggles at the ranting man in front of her.

Juan pulled his jeans on quickly, before sitting down on the edge of the bed and speaking in a much calmer voice.

"I shouldn't be gone too long, and hour and a half at the most. Please stay. I have a fridge full of food, the remote for the TV is in the drawer there, I even have something you could wear for pyjamas if you want. I don't want my sister's messy divorce to end our evening."

She looked up at him, smiling and pulling the sheet up around herself a bit.

"Well, I probably shouldn't drive with the wine I've had..."

She was smiling coyly up at him still as he made his way to the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and sweatpants, placing them on the bed beside her.

"I couldn't agree more," he smiled at her "it's always best to be safe."

He pulled his shirt over his head and gave her a lingering kiss, apologizing again for his sudden departure.

"Go on," she said "go be a good brother. I'll be here watching trashy TV when you get back."

He laughed out loud as he pulled his shoes on, shooting her a dazzling smile before retreating out the door, calling behind him.

"Don't spoil 'Real Housewives' for me."

He could hear her laughing as he made his way out of the apartment, car keys in hand.

Callie owed him big time.

* * *

><p>About a half hour after leaving his apartment and the woman in his bed, Juan rushed into Joe's bar, clothing askew and hair sticking out in several directions. He immediately spotted a pregnant woman sitting at the bar with Arizona who he assumed was April Kepner, the woman with the annoying voice.<p>

Not bothering to be all too polite, he walked up to the bar and spoke.

"You must be Dr. Kepner."

The woman looked up, obviously startled at his sudden interruption.

"Um, I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Juan. You called me, remember?"

"Oh, yes, of course..."

He interrupted, motioning to Arizona.

"I've got this under control. You can go."

"Oh, are you sure? I mean..."

Once again, she was interrupted.

"It's fine, Dr. Kepner. I doubt you'd be able to help me too much anyways. You should go home."

"Okay," she stuttered "thank you. I mean, I'm sorry to put you out this late."

"It's fine. Go home, you look tired."

Juan's voice was gruff and blunt, but not unkind.

"Okay, thanks. Night Arizona."

With that, April made her way out of the bar, leaving Juan and Arizona alone with the bartender.

There was silence for a minute before Juan spoke again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Arizona looked startled as she replied.

"Um, drinking?"

"Yeah, I see that. Why exactly?"

She looked pensive for a moment, though still wobbly in her seat.

"Dunno. Bad day. Lost four kids, parents in town, Callie wants to talk. Bad day."

Juan sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Alright, I'll take you home. We'll be having a longer conversation at some point though, when you've sobered up."

Arizona simply nodded, watching as Juan motioned to Joe, the bartender coming closer.

"How much has she had to drink?"

Joe scratched his chin lightly.

"More than I'd like to admit. I didn't notice how wrecked she was until a bit too late."

Juan sighed again.

"Great, looks like I'm the official designated driver for this breakup."

"Sorry about that."

Juan looks up at the other man.

"Nah, not your fault. At least I'm not picking her up from jail."

"Hey!" Arizona pouted indignantly.

"Uh uh," Juan shook his head "you don't get to be annoyed. I'm the one picking your drunk ass up at two in the morning, even though I had a date over. A fourth date. Arizona, do you know what happens on a fourth date?"

She had the good sense to look sheepish as she caught his eye, ignoring Joe chuckling in the background.

"Sex?"

"Yes Arizona, sex. Very good sex. Sex that I have not had in months and was very much enjoying until the bucket of ice water that is April Kepner interrupted."

Joe let out a full laugh behind the bar, coughing in a half assed attempt to cover it. Arizona just sat in her stool, feeling thoroughly chastised.

"Sorry. I asked her to hit redial, and I guess you were my last incoming call."

He sat down next to her and smoothed down his hair.

"Listen, normally this wouldn't even faze me. I'm usually down to bail people out late at night, I can't even tell you the number of times I've done it for Callie, but tonight you caught me trying to have a personal life. It doesn't happen often, so I don't love when it gets interrupted."

"Makes sense," she replied "you can just put me in a cab."

He laughed slightly at her statement.

"No, I can't. I've now been informed by numerous people that you are the world's clumsiest drunk, so I think it's safer if I take you home myself."

Arizona mumbled something incomprehensible, looking down at her feet.

"What was that?"

She spoke up.

"I'm staying at the hospital, you can just drop me off there."

Once again, Juan sighed deeply, running his hand down his face.

"You're going to be the death of my sex life, you know that?"

Arizona chuckled.

"What? Why?"

Juan just pulled her up from her seat and secured her arm around his shoulders before supporting her as she stood fully.

"Come on, you're too drunk to sleep in your office. My guest room isn't unpacked yet, but you can sleep on my couch."

She started to speak, but he quickly cut her off.

"Don't even argue. Night Joe!" he called behind him as he practically carried Arizona out the door and to his car.


	13. Chapter 13

**I still don't own anything trademarked, copyrighted, or recognizable. I'd also like to note that I do have Callie and Arizona's conversation planned all out. I'm not trying to stall too much, but a few things need to happen before they can talk. It is coming soon though. And I've noticed a few typos reading over the last few chapters, I may go back and fix them, but this is more me just saying that I know they're there. **

* * *

><p>The next morning found Juan standing in his kitchen, slicing fruit and waiting for coffee to be ready as he balanced his phone against his shoulder.<p>

"Callie, I'm not sure why you think this is a good idea, it sounds like a complete disaster."

"It's just Thanksgiving dinner Juan, not an infectious disease outbreak."

"Yeah, Thanksgiving dinner with your ex-wife, her semi estranged family, and your bastard brother. Sounds like a fun time."

"Well obviously I'm inviting more people than just that, that would just be stupid."

"Uh huh."

Juan rolled his eyes and popped a piece of kiwi in his mouth.

"You should bring some guys from the team, and a date, you have to bring a date! I know you've been seeing someone."

"Callie..." he started warningly, before she interrupted.

"Nope. It's settled. You're bringing a date and some friends to Thanksgiving."

"Callie, I..."

Again he was interrupted.

"Please Juan, this is the only way I'll be able to get Arizona and her parents in the same room."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean you haven't even talked to her yourself yet, I feel like springing her family on her will just make things worse."

"I know, but her mom misses her so much, and I know they used to be close. Her relationship with her dad is a little more complicated, and he may not even agree to come, but I just keep thinking about if it was Sofia, how much I'd miss her. Her mom isn't nearly as loud or judgmental as her dad, either, so I think it could still be a nice dinner with them in the same room."

Juan sighed, walking over to pour himself a cup of coffee as the machine beeped.

"Fine, fine. But Callie, you don't even know how much you owe me. And I'm not bringing dessert."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. There'll be so many people there you won't even have to see the Robbins', I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

As he spoke, a woman emerged from his bedroom, freshly showered and dressed in last night's clothes.

"I've got to go," he said "I'll talk to you later."

He quickly hung up the phone and greeted his guest with a kiss.

"Coffee?"

She smiled shyly at him.

"Sounds good."

A noise from the couch startled them both slightly as the blanket covered mass shifted in sleep, only curly blonde hair visible to the couple.

"That's your sister's ex?"

She had a befuddled look on her face as she spoke.

"Yeah, sorry about all the noise coming in last night, she has to be the clumsiest drunk I've ever met."

"I was kind of expecting a big, burly, guy, with all the crashing I was hearing."

Juan laughed lightly, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially.

"She's actually tiny, maybe five six at the tallest, I had to carry her up most of the way."

His date laughed heartily, before quickly moving her hand over her mouth so as not to wake the blonde.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting a woman at all."

Juan thought for a moment.

"I never really did specify gender, did I? Is it a problem for you?"

The woman across from him shook her head as she spoke.

"No, no, nothing like that. I guess it's just one of those things you assume, even if you should know better."

He just shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right. Oh, that reminds me, my sister wanted me to invite you to her big Thanksgiving blowout. I realize it's soon, but it sounds like it's going to be more like a house party with turkey decorations than a family dinner."

She considered him for a moment.

"Well, given that my other option is dinner at my friend's boyfriend's place, attended by my boss, my ex-boyfriend, and his pregnant wife, I'm thinking that Thanksgiving at your sister's sounds alright. There will be alcohol, right?"

Juan just laughed, leaning in to kiss her.

"There always is."

They stood comfortably together, eating fruit and drinking coffee, before her phone started going off.

"Shit," she muttered "that's work. I have to go."

She kissed him quickly and they said their goodbyes as she rushed out the door, leaving him alone in the apartment with a still sleeping mess of blonde curls.

* * *

><p>Callie all but stormed into the ER, her thoughts a complete mess as she picked up a stack of charts. Maybe she shouldn't have met up with Arizona's mother without telling the woman herself, and she really had no idea what she was thinking about Thanksgiving, but at this point she had invited so many people that maybe they wouldn't even notice each other there.<p>

She sighed deeply, scanning over her charts. At least Daniel had decided not to come, that was a small blessing. She knew enough to know that springing Arizona's father on her was not a good idea; at least Arizona and her mother had an easier relationship, and hopefully the blonde would still be willing to sit down and have a conversation with her even after having her mother forced on her.

Callie pinched the bridge of her nose as she rounded the corner, spotting the residents on her service today.

"Edwards! Wilson! You're with me" she barked at the two women, interrupting their conversation.

She kept moving as the two fell into step behind her, still talking amongst themselves. Little bits of their conversation met her ears as she moved through the hallways.

"Well, you like him right?"

That was Wilson's voice.

"Yeah, probably more than I should at this point."

And that was Edwards.

"Well then what's the problem?"

"He still hasn't told me what he does for a living."

"Okay, and?"

"What if he's shady and I just can't see it because I like him?"

"Oh come on Steph, you haven't even slept with the guy yet."

Silence.

"Oh my God! You slept with him, didn't you?"

Callie stopped abruptly, the two residents running into her back, before skittering backwards as she turned around to face them, eyes narrowed.

"Edwards, do I care about your love life?"

The young woman's eyes went wide and she stuttered as she spoke, Wilson looking equally startled.

"Um... No."

"Exactly. So I do not want to know the details. Focus please."

She turned back around, making her way onto the elevator as she spoke again.

"And for God's sakes Edwards, find out how this guy earns his money."

Callie couldn't help but chuckle to herself as the elevator doors shut, leaving a bewildered Edwards and a giggling Wilson on the third floor. What she wouldn't give to have such an easily remedied romantic quandary.

* * *

><p>Arizona felt as though a colony of bees had made their home between her ears. She had no idea where she was, only that it wasn't comfortable, and she was so wrapped up in blankets she didn't think she'd ever be free.<p>

"Hmfg!"

She grunted as she tried to disentangle herself from the blankets in which she'd apparently created a nest. Flailing her arms, she misjudged the amount of space she had, sending herself tumbling to the floor.

"Morning Sunshine!"

Whoever was so cheery on this particular morning needed to be stopped, she decided as she pulled herself free of the blankets, now just needing to find where her leg had gone.

Juan sat down on the chair opposite her spot on the floor, holding a cup of coffee and looking entirely too chipper.

"Whermleg" she attempted, drawing a raised eyebrow from the man across from her.

She tried to rid herself of the sensation of sandpaper and cotton balls in her mouth before speaking again, slightly more comprehensibly.

"Where's my leg?"

There was a question she never thought she'd be asking, especially to a man she really didn't know all that well.

"By the door. You insisted on taking it off with your shoes, claimed it was the polite thing to do."

Arizona groaned, rubbing her temples.

"Oh God. I can't believe I did that. I'm so sorry, I have no idea why I would do that."

Juan just chuckled infuriatingly, standing up and walking somewhere behind her that she couldn't see, returning not only with her leg, but also another cup of coffee.

"Here" he offered her the mug.

"Thanks."

She gratefully took a large gulp of the hot liquid, not even caring that it was bitter and black, as opposed to full of sugar like she preferred. Beggars couldn't be choosers.

Juan was still looking at her with that infuriating, amused smirk.

"I assume this is your place?" she asked.

"It is. I'd give you the grand tour, but you showed yourself around pretty good last night."

"Oh God," she groaned "I didn't."

"You did" he laughed.

"I'm so sorry. I can be a really nosy drunk, apparently."

"You certainly can. Nosy and clumsy. Mostly clumsy though, if that helps."

A memory from the night before suddenly came to the forefront of her mind.

"Oh no... Oh no, no, no. I made you carry me up the stairs, didn't I?"

At that, Juan burst out into full on laughter, speaking again when he'd recovered.

"To be fair, you didn't really make me. You actually insisted you'd be fine, but once you started crawling, I just picked you up."

Arizona buried her face in her hands.

"That's so embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it, I've had to haul Callie over my shoulder more than once."

Arizona's head shot up, the movement making her groan in pain.

"Oh God, Callie. I didn't call her, did I? Does she know what a fool I made of myself last night?"

Juan shook his head.

"No, but someone named April Kepner does."

Arizona just groaned again, suddenly wanting to burrow back into her nest.

"I'm so sorry. This must be the weirdest situation for you; having to carry your sister's drunk, legless, ex wife up to your apartment. Not to mention having April Kepner interrupt your sex life. So sorry about that, by the way."

Juan just laughed again.

"I'm surprised you remember that!"

Arizona blushed and nodded as Juan spoke again.

"It's actually not the weirdest favor someone's ever asked of me though."

Arizona raised her eyebrow.

"I doubt that."

Again, Juan laughed.

"Please. Do you know who Jerry Pike is?"

She had to think for a moment before she answered.

"The soccer player?"

Juan nodded again, humming his assent.

"We played together at Barcelona. After a game once, he asked if I could watch his son, Michael, for five or ten minutes. Said he had something he had to go deal with. I didn't see him again for two days."

Arizona's eyes went wide.

"You're joking!"

He just shook his head.

"I wish I was. Apparently him and his girlfriend had some epic blowout, he forgot he'd left the kid with me and the girlfriend thought he was with Jerry's parents."

"How... I mean, what could..."

He just shrugged.

"I have no idea. All I know is that I was twenty one and had no idea what to do with a one year old. I managed to get ahold of the girlfriend's parents, and everything worked out alright, but I'd say that was a much worse favor than picking you up drunk at a bar."

Arizona couldn't help the slight chuckle that escaped her despite her hangover.

"I guess you're right" she agreed.

She felt something buzz in her coat and suddenly sat up, dread filling her.

"No, no, no."

Arizona found the source of the buzzing, exactly as she'd expected, her pager.

"Shit, that's work."

Juan stood, gathering her empty coffee cup.

"You better put your leg on quick if you want a ride, I've got practice in a half hour."

Arizona scrambled to attach her prosthetic and attempt to pull herself out of her hungover stupor as Juan put the dishes in the sink, grabbed something out of the fridge, and collected his car keys from the counter.

"Here" he handed her a travel mug full of something she couldn't quite identify.

"It's for the hangover. Trust me. Ready to go?"

He grabbed his bag from the floor and opened the door for her as she sniffed at the mug curiously, hoping it would make her day the tiniest bit bearable.


	14. Chapter 14

**Still don't own anything recognizable.**

* * *

><p>Arizona rolled her neck, willing her ever present headache away as she flipped through the chart in front of her. A voice from her left startled her and sent the chart toppling to the floor, drawing a groan of frustration from the blonde surgeon.<p>

"Hey Dr. Robbins, I just got switched onto your service. Sorry I'm late!"

She stood, scowling slightly at the cheerful voice of the resident in front of her.

"Edwards, please be quiet."

The other woman moved forward to grab the extra charts off the counter, scrunching her nose as she stepped closer.

"Dr. Robbins, you stink."

Arizona raised an eyebrow at the young woman, who had apparently surprised even herself with the outburst.

"Excuse me?"

Her tone was cold and left little room for argument, but Edwards was saved from answering when Alex Karev rounded the corner, stopping beside them.

"Jesus Robbins, did you knock over a still?"

She rounded on Karev now, eyes narrowed and lips pursed tight.

"Seriously, you stink like a bar bathroom."

"Alex!"

Karev gestured for Edwards to stay put, guiding Arizona into the nearest on call room.

"What the hell is going on with you?"

"Alex, I..."

He interrupted.

"No, seriously Robbins. I need to know where your head is. You can't see patients like this, we'd be sued."

"Alex, I'm not drunk! I'm more than a little bit hungover, but still functional. All I have is an appendectomy today, and I was just going to supervise Edwards. I didn't have time to shower before I left this morning, but I will before I even think of seeing patients."

"Robbins, I'm not trying to be an asshole here, but I need to be sure you're good."

"I'm fine, Karev."

"Alright," he nodded "go shower. Now. I'll get Edwards to finish those charts, but then I expect you to be on top of your game and not walking around here stinking to high hell."

She smacked his arm as he exited the on call room, taking a deep breath and rubbing her temples uselessly.

* * *

><p>Miranda Bailey sat in the Attending's Lounge, attention spilt between a wilted salad, a medical journal, and the television playing in the corner. She vaguely recognized that there were others in the room, but was entirely unconcerned, too tired and too busy to be bothered. Until she heard what she supposed were meant to be clandestine whispers from her left.<p>

She turned her head towards the noise to find Alex Karev and April Kepner huddled together and speaking in mostly hushed tones, an unlikely pairing, to be sure. Her interest was peaked when Kepner, normally reserved, gestured wildly, raising her voice.

"But it is!"

She raised her eyebrow at the younger surgeon, who quickly sat back down and blushed slightly, returning to her discussion with Karev.

Bailey just shook her head, returning briefly to her reading before she was once again pulled away, this time by the voice of Owen Hunt from beside her at the table.

"I hate this commercial."

She looked briefly at the trauma surgeon before turning her attention to the television. Some sort of dance music played in the background as a group of very handsome men, wearing only blue jeans she noticed, kicked around a soccer ball. Their movement with the ball was more or less choreographed to the music, and she noted that one man seemed to be the focal point of the advertisement, though she had yet to actually see his face. Not that she was complaining.

"Not a soccer fan, Dr. Hunt?" she teased.

The red haired man grumbled a bit as he spoke.

"Actually I am, but this is just ridiculous. Nobody needs to see these guys running around shirtless."

Bailey smirked at him.

"Speak for yourself."

Apparently the ad was for jeans, Bailey realized as a familiar face popped up on the screen, sweaty, smiling and spewing some Levi's slogan.

"Well I'll be..."

She was interrupted by April Kepner's shrill, and highly unwelcome, voice.

"Alex! That's him!"

By now both she and Owen were looking at the pregnant surgeon curiously, watching as she pointed at the television and then at Karev.

"That's the guy from the bar!"

Karev was clearly annoyed, motioning for April to sit down, but not before Bailey could speak.

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Kepner?"

* * *

><p>After an embarrassing bout of sputtering directed at Miranda Bailey, April sat again, beet red and scowling at a clearly amused Alex Karev.<p>

"You could have helped me out."

He just continued to laugh at her misfortune.

"Pfft. You're on your own with Bailey. Besides, you did it to yourself."

"Shut up" she grumbled, stabbing a tomato with her fork.

"What were you going on about anyways?"

"The guy in the commercial, he was at the bar last night. He picked Arizona up. I think there's something going on."

Alex just gave her a skeptical look.

"Look, I know you're pretty naive Kepner, but even you must realize Robbins is gay."

"Of course I know that Alex! I'm not stupid. But she's different since her and Callie broke up, all I'm saying is something's up."

He took a bite of his sandwich, speaking around a mouthful of tuna salad.

"Sure, the drinking's a bit concerning, but Robbins doesn't do guys. She's got a big ol' gold star."

April just made a disgusted face as a piece of Alex's lunch landed on her sleeve.

"Just talk to her."

"You don't think I've tried that already, she's in a mood. Won't say a word to me."

Jackson Avery chose that moment to sit down at their table, pecking his wife on the cheek before taking a loud bite of his apple.

"Who's in a mood?"

"Robbins" Alex replied, still chewing.

"Makes sense, what with Torres' fuck buddy around and all."

April and Alex both snapped their heads up at the statement.

"Jackson!"

"Dude, seriously? I thought he was her cousin or something."

"Nah, pretty sure they're sleeping together."

A throat cleared behind them, surprising all three.

"You three gossip like a bunch of interns."

April started to speak, wanting to be spared the wrath of Miranda Bailey, but was quickly silenced.

"Don't even start with me, Kepner. You ran out on your own wedding with this one," she nodded towards Jackson "and he's not any better, instigating the whole thing when he was with that poor Edwards girl. Not to mention your now infamous deflowering at your surgical boards."

Jackson went to interrupt but was again silenced with a wave of Bailey's hand.

"Uh uh, I'm not done. You, Jackson Avery have been the focus of some less than charitable chatter yourself. And don't even get me started on Karev; the syphilis, the numerous inappropriate relationships - almost always within the walls of this hospital - and now you're shacked up with a resident. So no, the three of you do not get to sit there and pass judgement."

She shook her head in exasperation, turning on her heel and breezing out of the lounge, leaving three shocked faces and a very amused Owen Hunt laughing into his coffee.

* * *

><p>Arizona scrubbed out of her appendectomy as quickly as she could while still following protocol. All through the procedure Edwards had been apologetic and sincere, which just bothered her more as time went on. And she was perky. What the hell was that about? She took a minute to appreciate the irony of finding someone else's perkiness irritating as she made her way to the cafeteria.<p>

She was finally getting to the front of the line for food when her phone went off, so she ignored it, instead choosing the most appetizing salad she could scope out and grabbing a fork. It was only when her phone buzzed three more times in her pocket that she paused to consider it. Why was it that everyone always seemed to need her at the exact time?

Nope, whoever it was would just have to wait until she paid for her food. It was probably just Karev anyways, or even worse, Edwards wondering where she'd taken off to. She felt a little bit guilty about running off on her resident, but she was still feeling the effects of her hangover and knew that she wouldn't be much use to anyone at the moment anyways.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone buzzing yet again.

"Oh hell!"

She reluctantly pulled the device from her lab coat, tapping the screen to take her to her inbox.

"_Bailey's looking for you. Just a head up."_

That was from Karev, and easily ignored.

_"Want to talk about last night?"_

April. She'd been avoiding the woman all day and would continue to do so until her shift ended.

"_You rearranged my fridge last night. I can't find anything. Thanks so much for that."_

She actually laughed at the text from Juan, knowing she like to organize when she drank.

_"Were you in my bedroom? All my drawers are organized."_

Juan again. She wouldn't be surprised if she had snuck into his room to organize things.

_"I'm having Thanksgiving at the house this Saturday, lots of people will be there. I'd really like it if you came."_

Callie. The ache in her head had shifted into her chest at the invitation.

Apparently she now had plans for Thanksgiving.


	15. Chapter 15

**Yeah, so I wasn't thrilled with the last chapter, but I needed a bit of filler for some time to pass and a few things needed to be set up. I also had the first half of this chapter written to a point where I was satisfied, and then my computer shut down, so if the first couple of paragraphs are a bit lacklustre, well, sorry about that, rewriting something never quite yields the same results. And as always, I own nothing you recognize.**

* * *

><p>Callie was starting to regret her decision to host Thanksgiving. Apparently in her haste to make sure it wasn't an awkward family affair, she had invited everyone she knew, and asked Juan to do the same. So now it resembled a frat party with small children running around more than anything, and she didn't recognize half of the people she saw.<p>

The one person she was hoping to see, however, was noticeably absent. She hadn't seen Arizona since she morning she'd woken up to the blonde on her couch, except for in passing at the hospital. She'd been called in on a peds case the day before, but had only ever seen Karev, who had given her a strange look the whole time. Between their busy schedules and a few bizarre rumors going around the hospital, Callie knew she'd have to talk to Arizona tonight or risk being unable to concentrate for the coming week.

She stood nervously in the corner of her own living room, scanning the crowd and holding tightly to what was either her fourth or fifth drink when a voice to her left startled her.

"Interesting crowd, Cal."

Meredith Grey stood before her, holding Bailey on her hip and nursing what appeared to be a glass of water.

"Yeah, I think I may have overdone it a bit."

The other woman just laughed, shifting her son slightly.

"I don't recognize half of these people."

Callie had to chuckle at that.

"Me either, to be honest."

"So basically, you have a house full of strangers?"

"I think they're Juan's friends, but for all I know they wandered in off the street."

Callie was still scanning the crowd, only half paying attention to Meredith as she spoke.

"Well that's reassuring. The one's I've met have been nice enough at least."

"Uh huh."

Clearly noticing her attention straying, Meredith spoke again.

"Looking for Arizona?"

"Huh? No, no.. Of course not."

"Sure Cal... Oh God, don't tell me you've been listening to April Kepner, I think the pregnancy hormones are messing with her head."

Callie glanced at Meredith before looking quickly at her shoes.

"Seriously? How much have you had to drink? As Arizona's ex-wife, you can't possibly believe she's hooking up with a man."

"No, no. I know. It's just, I was hoping that when I started to hear about her with someone else, it wouldn't be my brother."

Meredith just chuckled and shook her head.

"Come on, let's get you a glass of water."

"I'm serious Meredith, what if she's moved on? I mean, I know I'm the one who ended things, and I have no right to be angry, or jealous, but what if she's over me?"

The other woman just sighed deeply.

"Callie, there may come a point where she does find someone else, that's life, however I highly doubt that that time is now or that person is your brother... Or any man, for that matter. You must know that?"

Callie just nodded. Some part of her did know that; the sober, logical part of her knew she was being ridiculous, but she was currently neither sober nor thinking logically.

"Come on Cal, let's get you a glass of water before you can dive further down this rabbit hole."

She allowed Meredith to drag her into the kitchen, dodging a couple she didn't recognize, and pour her a glass of water. Hopefully she'd have her head screwed back on by the time she saw Arizona.

* * *

><p>Walking towards the house from their parking spot on the next street, Juan could hear the music coming from the direction of Callie's house, he could also feel the hand is his begin to shake.<p>

"You alright?"

She looked up at him with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little nervous. Meeting your sister, not to mention the obscene amount of people that seem to be there."

Juan just nodded, thoughtful. There hadn't been any place to park on Callie's street, and driving by the house he had seen people spilled out onto the front lawn. Apparently she hadn't been kidding when she said she'd be inviting a lot of people. The small group he had arrived with would be but a drop in the ocean.

"Hey, I don't know most of these people either, just a few guys from the team that I invited. Seems she's gone a bit overboard."

Aurelio, who had been walking behind them with his wife, spoke up.

"This is how your family does the holidays, huh?"

Juan laughed nervously.

"Apparently. Seems I didn't get the memo though, I was expecting something a bit more sedate."

Aurelio and his wife both laughed, only to be interrupted by a woman's voice behind them.

"JJ!"

Juan paused, before recognizing the voice, a look of annoyance flitting across his face.

"Oh damn!" he muttered, turning towards the voice "Aria, I've told you not to call me that."

A tall, thin woman made her way to the group, smiling widely, showing two rows of perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Y que prefieres? Juan Jairo?"

The group had stopped walking, choosing to stand watching the conversation with mild amusement.

"Aria, sabes que..."

He was interrupted with a wave of a manicured hand, the woman smiling at him.

"Relax Juan, I'm just bugging you."

The group continued walking, Aria falling into step with them, heels clacking on the pavement.

"So, what brings you to Seattle?"

Aria just shrugged, a slight smirk on her face.

"I was in Portland for business and decided to take the train up and surprise Cal."

Juan arched an eyebrow, turning to face her as they walked.

"You took the train?" his tone was incredulous.

"Okay, so I flew." Aria waved her hand again.

Juan chuckled before speaking again.

"Yeah, that sounds more like it."

He turned to address the others.

"Guys, this is my sister, Aria."

Three heads nodded at her, delivering casual greetings.

"Figured I'd come surprise Cal for Thanksgiving, what with the divorce and all. Didn't know she'd be throwing a huge party though."

"Yeah, I don't think she really realized either. I'm pretty sure the guest list got away from her a bit."

Aria laughed lightly, stopping as they reached the house. She grabbed the sleeve of Juan's jacket, pulling him to a stop.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

He turned to the other three and spoke.

"You guys can go on in ahead, I'll be right behind you."

They nodded at him, making small talk as they made their way into the party.

"What's up Aria?"

"How's she doing?"

"You couldn't have asked me that with them here?"

"Juan, I'm serious. I feel bad that I haven't been around, and I haven't really be keeping in touch that much. I kind of disappeared when Dad disowned her and I didn't come to the wedding, I figured the least I could do would be to support her in the divorce."

Juan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Honestly, she's not doing great. I think she's had a really rough couple of years, and neither of us have been around, and you know she's not close with Carlos or Lucia anymore, they barely speak."

Aria nodded, worrying her lip with her teeth.

"I've been doing what I can since I've been here, but she's struggling."

Aria was known for fidgeting when she was nervous, and she spun her ring continuously as she spoke.

"So, what's the ex-wife like? Nevada?"

"Arizona. You'll probably meet her tonight, I think she's coming.

"What?!" she exclaimed "Callie invited her ex-wife?"

"Please Aria, it looks like Callie invited everyone she's ever met. She's still really hung up about it though, I don't think she really wants the divorce. Like I said, she's had a rough couple of years, and I don't really know the whole story, just snippets here and there."

Aria nodded, still spinning her ring.

"So, you're saying I shouldn't bitch out Nevada?"

"Arizona. And no, I don't think you should. The whole thing is complicated as hell, but I know Callie wouldn't appreciate it."

She nodded again, seemingly having made up her mind.

"So, that woman you were with?"

The mischievous smirk had returned to her face as they made their way into the house, quickly being assaulted with loud music and a wall of people. As they weaved between the crowd, the group they had entered with came into view, standing chatting in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I've been seeing her for a few weeks."

Aria's smirk had yet to disappear.

"She's cute, want me to talk you up?"

"Aria, please don't. I'm doing fine on my own and I have a feeling I don't want her to hear the stories you'd tell."

They had made their way back to their original group and Juan placed a chaste kiss on his date's lips, drawing a smile from her.

"So, that's your sister, huh?"

"One of them. Usually I'd warn you about her, but I think right now Callie's actually more likely to cause a scene than Aria."

As if the universe had heard him, Callie came storming around the corner, a woman with a baby on her hip trailing helplessly behind her.

"Have you been sleeping with my wife?!"

Her voice was slurred and higher pitched than usual and every head in the room snapped towards her, eyes wide.

The woman behind her spoke.

"I'm so sorry, she's been drinking and I couldn't talk her down."

Not one to be placated, Callie stepped forward and jabbed her finger into Juan's chest, staring up at the taller man.

"Answer my question."

Though slurred, her voice was hard, and Juan stood, eyes wide and completely baffled. The room had gone dead silent.

* * *

><p>Almost as soon as she saw the look on her brother's face, Callie knew she had wildly overreacted. His eyes were wide and incredulous, obviously he was trying to figure out how exactly to talk her down. Embarrassment flooded her, suddenly acutely aware that all eyes were on her.<p>

As her face turned a deeper shade of red, she recognized more of the faces staring back at her, wide eyed.

"Aria? Edwards?"

Her sister stepped forward, taking her by the arm and leading her towards the back door as she vaguely registered Juan reassuring Meredith, Edwards, and everyone else in the kitchen.

She felt the cool air on her face and could hear Aria's voice, though she wasn't paying enough attention to catch her words.

"Callie!"

She was shaken out of her reverie, her sisters hand on her arm.

"Hmm?"

"What the hell was that? Have you lost your mind?"

"I... I don't... I mean..."

She trailed off.

"Juan isn't sleeping with Arizona, Callie."

"I know." she whispered.

"Are you sure? Because you just accused him of as much in front of everyone you know."

Callie sighed and lowered herself to sit, leaning against the stucco wall.

"Aria, what are you doing here?"

Aria didn't sit, instead standing to face her sister with her hands resting on her hips.

"I figured you might be having a rough time with the divorce. Apparently I was right."

"Go back inside."

Callie's voice was barely a whisper, but it held a surprising amount of venom.

"What?"

"I said, go back inside! You only show up when it's convenient for you, Aria, and I don't need your fair weather pity!"

She was yelling now, but couldn't bring herself to care.

For a moment it looked as if Aria was winding up to yell back, but instead she simply turned on her heel and retreated into the house with a huff, leaving Callie alone on her back patio, head against the rough surface of the house and a persistent lump in her throat.

* * *

><p>"What was that all about?"<p>

Stephanie Edwards stood in the packed kitchen, perplexed with the amount of new information assaulting her.

"That was my sister, Callie. Usually she's a much better host."

Juan gave her a halfhearted smile.

"Dr. Torres is your sister?!"

"Dr. Torres? You know her?"

He looked confused now.

"She's basically my boss, and she already doesn't like me. I doubt this will help my case."

Juan stepped forward and took her hand in his, a serious look on his face.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea. I wouldn't have put you in this position if I had... Although, to be fair, I thought she'd just walk over and introduce herself. I have no idea what that bit of craziness was."

Meredith chose that moment to speak up, leaning against the counter.

"I'm pretty sure that had more to do with her blood alcohol than anything else. That and April Kepner's big mouth. Hey Edwards."

She nodded at the younger woman, before directing her attention back to Juan.

"Apparently the booze brings out her insecurities."

Juan tilted his head.

"April Kepner? The pregnant one? With the shrill voice?"

Meredith just nodded.

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Apparently you picked Arizona up from a bar, and Kepner decided the two of you were an item. The hormones have made her stupid and gossipy."

Juan's face went dark as he drew in a deep breath, exhaling harshly.

"Son of a bitch."

"Wait," Stephanie spoke up "that was Dr. Robbins passed out on your couch?"

Both Meredith and Juan turned to look at the other woman, Juan simply nodding.

Before another word could be said, a familiar blonde head appeared behind Meredith, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

"Hey Juan, Meredith. Dr. Edwards?"

Meredith had to fight to suppress a smile as she turned, making her way into the next room, speaking as she went.

"Hey Arizona! Good luck Juan."


End file.
